Promises Kept
by Dee47
Summary: What happens when Booth goes on an undercover assignment leaving Bones behind?  Storyline is set after the Season 6 finale. There are other characters involved in the story, but it's primarily all Booth and Bones.
1. Chapter 1

**I feel like we missed so much between the end of season 6 and the beginning of season 7 and the ideas will just not leave my head! This started out as just a one shot, but it felt like it needed to have some breaks. As of now, I'm not sure how many chapters this will end up being, but it won't be a long story, so hope you will hang in there with me. While it's not my first fanfic, it's my first venture into Bones fanfic, so please feel free to leave any feedback, good or bad. I'm open to constructive feedback. Hope you enjoy! **

**_~ Dee_**

Staring down at the skull in her hands, she tried her best to concentrate on the intricate lines on the bone, but the ticking of the clock overhead was a constant reminder that the time had almost come. It was early. Early enough that she was alone in the lab. Brennan usually enjoyed these moments when she could experience the peace and quiet to do the work she loved. But now the quietness only made the ticking of the clock echo that much louder throughout the room. Any minute now, her partner…the father of her child…the man she couldn't seem to go a day without needing to see…would come walking through the door to say good-bye. She had told him it was fine, even encouraged him to take this undercover assignment. A decision she was beginning to regret. She thought back to a couple of years ago when she had confessed to Angela that she worried about him when he was out in the field. Worried that something would happen to him. Worried that she wouldn't be there to watch his back. Worried that he wouldn't come back. The Temperance Brennan of five years ago, maybe even a year ago, would have chided herself for being so ridiculous. The FBI was his life, his job. Booth was good at what he did and he knew how to take care of himself. He had been watching his own back long before she ever met him and he didn't need her there to keep him safe. That's what her rational brain tried to convince her of. But pregnancy hormones and the ache in her heart made her irrational reminding her how much she had come to count on him and what she had to lose if he didn't come back. What if…no, she couldn't go there. Not right now. Not when he would be there any minute. One look at the tears in her eyes and he would back out from the assignment in a second. And she knew how much he wanted this. He had been working on this drug case for over a year and he was so close to an arrest. But she knew with one word from her, he would give it up.

When he had first mentioned the possibility of the assignment, his words were telling her it wasn't a big deal and he could assign another agent to go, but one look in his eyes and she knew. This was the type of work that energized him. He saw the eyes of his son and soon to be daughter in the pictures of the kids who came across his desk. Kids dead from drug overdoses or kids whose lives had already been ruined beyond repair. But despite his own desire to put those drug dealing bastards in jail for life, he still would have given it all up for her. She knew he loved her that much. And she loved him enough to put aside her own worries and fear to give him her blessing. Now she wanted to take it all back.

"So, I'm heading out."

The sudden voice coming from the steps leading to the platform startled her out of her thoughts, causing her to sway on her feet. Despite her best attempts to hide her unsteadiness, her ever observant partner was by her side in an instant.

"Woah," he whispered as he quickly reached his hands to her waist to steady her. "You okay there, Bones?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered quietly, knowing the tears were on the verge of escaping. In turn, her eyes burned into the skull in her hands, reciting every scientific fact of what she held, in her feeble attempt to keep her emotions in check.

After seven years, he knew her well enough and he gently turned her around, using the crook of his finger to turn her face to him. His dark eyes softened when her eyes shone back at him. "Hey, what's wrong?" Despite her best attempts to hold the tears at bay, they began tumbling down her face. She dropped the skull to the table and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. He returned her embrace, pulling her as close as her six month pregnant body would allow. Rubbing comforting circles on her back, he waited until she stepped back before speaking again, his thumbs reaching up to carefully wipe her tears away. "I can't leave knowing you are upset. Talk to me, Bones."

"It's nothing." Mad at herself for giving in to her emotions, she shook her head, but couldn't bring herself to remove her hands from him, not wanting to lose contact with his warmth. "I've spent the better part of the last five months crying thanks to these pregnancy hormones. I thought you had come accustomed to these biological episodes by now."

He might have bought her lame attempt at humor, if not for the fact that she was refusing to look at him. Her eyes were squarely planted on her fingers as she smoothed out the collar of his shirt. "Is this about my undercover assignment? Because I don't have to go, Bones. I can have Foster take this case over and he can go in my place. I can stay here, if that's what you want."

If that's what she wants. A part of her hates that he is putting this decision off on her. Why should she be the one to tell him to go or not to go? They had spent their entire professional partnership and more recently, their personal partnership, agreeing that they were both capable adults who had careers that were very important to them. Neither of them wanted to interfere with that. This was a decision he had to make for himself. She was not going to be the girlfriend or partner or whatever label society put on their relationship, to make him feel guilty for wanting to take an assignment that was so important to him. Just as she would expect him to not stand in the way of her career either. That's not who they were.

"I told you, Booth," she sighed heavily finally looking up to meet his eyes. "I know this is an important case to you and I told you I would not stand in the way. You know what you're doing and I trust your ability as an agent to complete this assignment successfully." His eyes continued to search hers for any underlying truths she wasn't telling him when she felt a sudden kick from their daughter reminding her of what he had to come back to. Gripping the front of his shirt, her voice was suddenly stronger as she pleaded. "Just promise me you will be careful. No playing hero, okay."

A small grin came to his face as he watched the varying emotions cross her face. His Bones. God knows he loved this woman with everything in him. She drove him crazy at times with her analytical way of looking at the world, but in moments like this, when she let her defenses down, he felt like he could see into her soul. She would dispute that theory of course, but it would never change what he believed.

"I promise," he whispered as he pressed his lips gently to hers. Separating enough to lean his forehead against hers, he pulled her closer, locking his hands behind the small of her back. "Now you owe me a promise in return." He saw her eyebrows arch in anticipation of what he would ask of her, though after all of these months, and in actuality years of overprotectiveness, she really should have already guessed. "No late nights in the lab, okay? I want you and baby Bones home at a decent hour. And no skipping meals. I've already told the squints, Angela in particular, that I expect them to drag you out of here if they have to."

"Booth, I keep telling you I can take care of myself," she groaned with a quick roll of the eyes. "I have multiple degrees, am an accomplished anthropologist and novelist. I think I can manage my eating and sleeping habits."

"Just humor me, okay?" He moved his hands to frame her face as leaned in to kiss her once more. "Just call it the alpha male in me that wants to take care of you and when I'm not here to do it myself, I want to make sure someone else is watching out for you."

"So remind me again when I can expect to be under your watchful eye again?" she sighed.

"Hopefully two or three weeks tops," he reminded, dropping his hands and lacing his fingers through hers. "Stan has been in for a few months now so my part should be minimal. We just need one last piece before Carolyn feels confident enough to prosecute. So I don't know how reachable I will be, but Hacker can find a way to get to me if you need me, so you go to him and tell him to find me."

Nodding her head slowly, she heard the buzz of his phone knowing that was the call that would send him out the door. She watched him glance down at the phone display before looking back at her. Swallowing hard, her eyes scanned his face as if she were trying to etch every minute detail into her memory. "I love you. You know that, right?"

His whispered response sent a flutter through her body. "I know you do, Bones. And I love you too. So much. I promise you that when I get back we are going to sit down together and start seriously looking at listings to find our house." His hand dropped so he could rest his palm on their daughter. "Because she's going to be here before we know it and I think she's going to want her own room."

Laying her hand over his, she reached up to kiss him again. What she meant as just a gentle kiss good-bye suddenly intensified when he wrapped his arms around her pulling her body as close to his as possible. In her mind, there was a small flicker of realization that they were standing in the middle of the lab where anyone could come in. She had been adamant with Booth when they started their relationship that she wanted their professional life to be strictly professional. In the lab, she was Dr. Brennan, world renowned anthropologist. In her office or at home, things could be different. But the prospect of spending at least the next two or three weeks without him pushed those thoughts quickly away.

When they parted, both breathless with eyes darkened with passion, they both smiled. "Sorry about that," he laughed. "Just wanted to give you something to remember and to look forward to when I get back."

"I won't forget," she promised, her fingers giving his a reassuring squeeze. "Just get back as soon as you can."

"Will do, Bones," he sighed, peppering quick kisses to her mouth, nose and lastly her forehead, where he lingered a few extra moments. "Stan is waiting so I have to go. I'll do my best to check in with you if it's safe, but don't worry if you don't hear from me, okay?"

"Just be careful," she whispered as he gave her one last kiss before turning to leave. As he reached the bottom of the steps, he turned around to give her another one of his smiles that made her knees weak.

"I love you, Bones." And with that, he disappeared out the door.

* * *

><p>Eighteen days, eleven hours, and forty-two minutes had passed since Booth had left her standing alone on the platform. But to Brennan, it seemed much, much longer. It had been almost two weeks ago when, true to his word, he did get a message to her through Hacker that he was safe and still hoping to be done within the three week deadline he had given her. Unfortunately, things were progressing slower than he had anticipated and odds were not looking good for his return in the next few days. In some regards, she had been able to slip back into anthropologist mode, working on remains that had been waiting for her for months or maybe even years to identify. It had been a good distraction during the day to have something to keep her mind occupied. But at night, things were different. If she had had her way, she would have stayed at the lab longer, allowing her mind to not drift to wondering what Booth was doing or if he was safe. The "squints," as he so affectionately called them, had kept their promise to him to keep an eye on her. They had taken turns taking her to lunch or carefully reminding her at the end of the day that it was time to go home. Angela in particular had been keeping a close eye on her, commenting on more than one occasion that she was looking tired. Given that she was not getting a lot of sleep, she couldn't really disagree with her. Pregnancy itself did not lead to ideal sleeping conditions between finding a comfortable spot or getting up every hour on the hour because her bladder was screaming. But she had also become accustomed to having Booth in the bed beside her. She found it difficult to sleep without the quiet rhythm of his breathing lulling her to sleep. She had found herself reaching out for him in the middle of the night only to come up empty which had her waking with a start. Her heart would be racing until she got her bearings and remembered why he was not there beside her. She hated feeling this way. This is why she had spent all those years keeping her distance from any serious relationship, keeping her heart locked up nice and tight. But Booth had changed all of that and bit by bit he had broken away at that protective layer she had built around her heart. The last bit of that imperviousness had vanished that night many months ago in his apartment. And now here she was, not even sure if she could call herself strong anymore. How could she still be strong and yet be falling apart because he was not there with her? No falling asleep in his arms. No foot rubs after a long day at the lab. No meals at the diner to talk about their latest case. She was lost without him, almost as if a piece of her was somehow missing. How had she become this person?<p>

"Brennan, it's almost 6:30," Angela's voice broke into her thoughts. "Don't you think it's about time to call it a day?"

Looking up, she saw her best friend approaching with arms crossed as if she was expecting an argument. "I have this identification almost complete and then once I finish the report…"

"I think the report can wait until the morning, Dr. Brennan."

The additional voice catching her by surprise, she turned to see Camille and Sweets approaching, obviously as back up for Angela. "I appreciate your concern, all of you, but I am certain that I can determine how much longer by energy level will sustain. And I can assure you that I will be able to complete this identification and the report before I leave." She knew her voice held an edge sharper than she had intended, but her nerves were frayed and her patience with the eyes that had been watching her at every turn was wearing thin. Not to mention the pounding headache that seemed to be intensifying left her without much concern for her response.

"Dr. Brennan," Sweets began, "I feel you are suppressing your real feelings about Agent Booth's absence and attempting to bury yourself in your work is not in your or your child's best interest."

"Dr. Sweets, I do not appreciate your condescending remarks nor are they needed. I have allowed all of you to monitor my every movement for the past three weeks and have not rejected your attempts to follow through on your promise to Booth. I no longer have the patience to deal with this nonsense, so if you will excuse me, I have work to complete." With that, she turned on her heel to return to the skeletal remains lying on the table before her.

Angela was not going to give up that easily though. "Sweetie, you are a strong, independent and incredibly stubborn woman. I know you know how to take care of yourself, but right now, you are missing Booth and you are not thinking clearly. I have watched you bury yourself in your work, but I know how worried you are about him. And I can understand that. I would probably be doing the same thing myself, or probably even worse. Since I know firsthand that you barely ate lunch and you said you barely slept last night, it's time to call it a day and get you and that baby home."

When Brennan jerked her body around for a rebuttal, she felt a sharp pain high in her abdomen as the room began to spin around her. Reaching for the edge of the table to steady herself, all three of her colleagues quickly reached for her arms to keep her from falling.

"Brennan, what's wrong?" Angela's voice held the same fear that the others were feeling. "Are you dizzy again?"

"Again?" Cam asked incredulously. "You mean this has happened before?"

Brennan remained still as Angela and Sweets moved to either side to help her to a nearby chair. "A couple of days ago she got dizzy as we were leaving to grab lunch at the diner. She hadn't eaten so we just thought that was why."

"It's just this headache," Brennan tried to assure them, squeezing her eyes tight trying to block out the blinding lights above. "And I haven't had dinner yet. That's all it is. I'm fine." Her attempt to convince them fell short when she felt another sharp pain radiate just below her ribs and grabbed her side with a grimace.

"Headache, dizziness, pain in your abdomen," Cam began. "You are not fine, Dr. Brennan. I really think we need to get you to the ER."

"Hospital?" Sweets voice cracked as his eyes darted between them. "You think there is something serious going on here?"

"I am not qualified to give a diagnosis, Dr. Sweets. I just think it would better to be cautious and have Dr. Brennan examined to be sure." Cam turned her attention to Brennan who had remained noticeably quiet during their exchange. "Angela, why don't you help me get Dr. Brennan to my car and Dr. Sweets, see if you can get in touch with Mr. Hacker so he can find Seeley and have him meet us at the hospital."

At the mention of her partner's name, Brennan suddenly broke her silence. "No!" They all visibly jumped at the sudden outburst. "Booth is undercover. If you try to reach him now, you will compromise his cover and put him in danger. I will go with you to the hospital and let a physician examine me, but I do not want Booth contacted. Am I clear?"

They all reluctantly nodded as Cam and Angela each grabbed one of her arms to help her stand from the chair. "Angela, my car is in the front lot. You and Dr. Brennan head on out. I just need to run to my office and I'll meet you there." She hesitated as she watched the two women begin the slow trek out the front door of the lab. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, she turned to Sweets once again. "You call Hacker and tell him to get Seeley to that hospital. I don't care what he has to do, but get him out of that assignment and get him there."

"You think this is serious?"

"It could be," she sighed, her voice tinged with concern. "And I know Seeley. If something happens and he is not there with Dr. Brennan, he will never forgive himself."

**_To be continued..._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Wow, thanks to all of you who took the time to read, comment or add my story as an alert. I'm still not exactly sure how many chapters this will end up...just depends on how many more ideas roll through my brain! Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter, but it felt like another stopping point in the story. Hoping next chapter will be longer.**_

_**Hope you all continue to enjoy!**_

_**~Dee**_

* * *

><p>It had been a long three weeks and he was just ready for it to be over. The sun was slipping from view and the last rays were shining into his tired eyes. There had not been much sleep to be had since he had slipped into undercover mode. In situations like this you always had to keep one eye open to make sure there wasn't a gun pointed at your face while you slept. There was no loyalty among drug dealers and even the slightest hint that you were a threat and you were dead. He was thankful that Stan had been there to watch his back and help keep him distracted from the thoughts that seem to dominate his mind. <em>Bones.<em> From the moment he had walked out of the lab, he had had to fight the urge to turn around and tell her he was going to forget the whole thing and stay with her. But he couldn't forget the images of the faces of innocent kids in the pictures that had been scattered across his desk for months. When he had first found out that Rebecca was pregnant with Parker, he had promised himself that he would never let his emotions as a father compromise his work. That promise had been broken the second he held his son his arms and looked into those trusting eyes. It was that moment that he knew that he would never be the same again. Becoming a father had changed him, but in many ways he had become a better agent for it. This case was a perfect example. His paternal emotions had fueled him even more to bring these drug dealing bastards to justice. He had helped make sure they would never hurt another child.

But now as he sat on the edge of the ambulance, trying to wait patiently as two EMTs hovered over him, he could not help but think of Parker and his little girl that had yet to be named…his little girl with her mother's bright blue eyes and wavy hair…they were why he did this. He could not let these monsters stay on the street to hurt another kid, especially his own.

"Agent Booth, can you open your eyes for us?"

He squinted as a bright light greeted him as they obviously started checking for signs of a concussion. "Guys, I told you I'm fine. It was not that hard of a hit. Just a quick jab when he caught me by surprise."

"You have a laceration near the top of the eye," one of the EMTs reminded him as if he could forget the stinging pain that made his head throb. "Looks like you might need some stiches."

Stitches…exactly what he didn't have time for right now. It had been his fault though for letting his guard down. Things had been going smoothly earlier in the day as he and Stan knew things were about to come to an end. With the information they had discreetly turned over to their fellow FBI contact last night, they had gotten word that Caroline was satisfied she had enough to prosecute and the cavalry would soon be arriving to free them. His mind had been distracted thinking of how he was going to spend his first night of freedom, thoughts of having Bones in his arms again as early as tonight had brought a smile to his face, but had him so preoccupied that he didn't hear the footsteps coming toward him. It was then that one of the dealers, stoned out of his mind, jumped him from behind. Before he even realized what was happening, he had been knocked to the floor with a few swift kicks to the ribs before he found his feet again. His instincts kicked in then as he leveled several blows with his fists to the man's jaw and ribcage. Stan had tried to intervene on his behalf, fighting off another dealer who had started to come at Booth from behind. Glancing to check on Stan had been another mistake as he felt a fist make contact with his face, giving him the now infamous cut. Frustrated with himself for letting his guard down, he had had enough, and with his adrenaline kicking into overdrive, he threw several more unreturned punches to this guy's face and ribs again, finally sending him down to the ground. It was then that the doors had burst open and he saw the familiar yellow FBI letters on the backs of the agents barreling through the door. He and Stan had been thrown against the wall and cuffed to keep up appearances, but the agents handling them had held them back so they were the last to be escorted out of the building. Once the others were safely on their way for questioning and lock up, the agent finally reached for his key to release them from the restraints. After almost three weeks of living around this filth, all he wanted to do was go home to take a shower and sleep for the next few days with Bones in the bed right there beside him.

"Some bruising along the cheekbone, but no fracture," the other EMT chimed in as he slid a blood pressure cuff over his arm. "Are you experiencing any other pain or discomfort, Agent Booth?"

With his patience running on empty, Booth was about to tell them they had done enough when he felt a piercing stab in his ribs as he exhaled. Despite his best attempt to hide his grimace at the pain, they had noticed and immediately lifted the edge of his dirty, torn t-shirt to examine his rib cage.

"Look guys, I know I probably look like crap, but I promise I've had worse," he began, pushing their hands away. "If you let me go, I promise I will go straight to the hospital if I start feeling worse."

"You may have broken ribs, Agent Booth," the paramedic warned him. "We need to get you to the hospital for x-rays and get that cut stitched up."

His brain and his heart were fighting a battle as they waited for his answer. The rational side of him knew that he needed to see a doctor, but in his heart, he just wanted Bones. It has been a long three weeks and he did not want to wait a moment longer to see her. But he knew she would be upset if he came to her looking like this, so he allowed the rational side to win and reluctantly nodded his head in agreement when the EMTs moved to pull out a stretcher for him. Exhaling slowly as he watched them work, he held his arm to his side trying to ease some of the pain he felt with every breath. Hearing a commotion, his head shot up in time to see a frantic looking Sweets jumping out of his car and running towards the ambulance. There was a brief moment of confusion seeing Sweets, but that confusion was short lived as he felt the dread settle in the pit of his stomach.

"What the hell are you doing here, Sweets? How did you know I was here?"

"Does anyone around here answer their damn phone?" Sweets screamed, his hands tugging at his curly hair in frustration. "I have been trying to get you for hours. Hacker was no help at all. He had said he could easily get to you, but I swear I think I have more connections than he does. I called every agent I could find involved in this case and not one single person answered their phone. What's the point of being FBI when I can't get information when I need it! Thank God Agent Shaw finally found your location. Since no one answers their phones around here, I just came here directly instead of wasting any more time."

Booth became uneasy when he saw the normally restrained Dr. Sweets unraveling at the seams. He stood quickly from the edge of the ambulance, shaking off the paramedics that that had returned with the stretcher. "What's going on, Sweets? Is it Bones? What's wrong?"

Sweets caught his breath when he realized his voice was shaking. "I'm not exactly sure. Angela and Dr. Sorayan took Dr. Brennan to the hospital a few hours ago. She made us promise not to try to contact you, but Dr. Sorayan said you needed to be there and…"

"Come on," Booth screamed at him, grabbing the sleeve of his coat, practically dragging him toward his car. Sweets raced to the driver's side, fumbling with his keys. His eyes caught Booth's pained expression as he slid into the passenger seat, feeling the stab of his ribs again.

"Are you okay?" Sweets asked as he quickly put the car in reverse. "Maybe we should get you checked out first."

"Just drive," Booth demanded.

* * *

><p>Booth quickly scanned the hallway he had been directed to looking impatiently for the room number the nurse in the ER had given him. As he neared the end of the hall, he saw Angela emerging from one of the rooms, closing the large wooden door softly behind her. When she turned and looked up at him, he saw the horrified expression cross her face.<p>

"What the hell happened to you, Booth?" Her eyes immediately went to his forehead, looking at the laceration that was still tinged with wet blood.

In his panic and hurry to get here, he had completely forgotten about the beating he had received just an hour ago. None of that mattered right now. "What happened? Where is she?"

"She's resting," Angela sighed, hearing his voice crack with fear. "The doctor felt it was best that she get some sleep so he gave her a mild sedative to keep her calm. Worked like a charm because she was out like a light in no time."

"What happened?" he repeated, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

"She's had a couple of dizzy spells the last few days and today she had a pretty bad headache and some abdominal pain." The blood drained from his face and she knew he was thinking the worst. "The baby is okay, Booth. The doctor did an ultrasound and they have a fetal monitor on her just as a precaution. But I promise, the baby is fine."

He closed his eyes in relief, thankful that at least one concern had been alleviated. "What about Bones?"

"At last check, her blood pressure was 140 over 100, so the doctor is concerned," she began hesitantly. "They are still running tests so they want to keep her overnight for observation."

Nodding slowly, he did not trust himself to say anything else, so he pushed past her as she reached a supportive hand to his arm. Hesitating at the door, he took a deep breath, his ribs once again screaming in protest before slowly cracking it open. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room, only hearing the sound of a calm beep coming from one of the multiple monitors that surrounded the bed. When his eyes finally adjusted, they suddenly landed on her sleeping form and he could feel his heart breaking. Crossing the room, he pulled the sterile metal chair closer to her bed and carefully reached for the hand that was draped over their baby. Mindful of the IV tube that was taped firmly to her skin, he lifted her hand to his face, pressing a gentle kiss to her fingers.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, a single tear sliding effortlessly down his face. "I'm so sorry."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for reading! Comments are appreciated, if you feel so inclined. :)**

**~Dee**

* * *

><p>During the past three weeks, in those rare moments when he had allowed his mind to wander, he had started a mental list of things to do with Bones. Beyond the obvious staying in bed all day, which was definitely number one on his list, he thought maybe a nice quiet dinner somewhere. Somewhere other than the diner or the Founding Fathers, which seemed to be the only places they ever went. He wanted somewhere nice, maybe that little French bistro she had mentioned wanting to try. He could make it an honest to goodness date, which was something they had yet to really have since starting this new part of their relationship. Then there were shopping trips to the mall and the baby store. Beyond her reading material on pregnancy or breast feeding or child development, there was nothing in either of their apartments that signified that they had a baby coming in four short months. They still needed clothes and bottles and bibs and all that other baby stuff he didn't know a thing about. Not to mention they still didn't have the first piece of baby furniture. Of course, they had yet to agree on their living arrangements, so who knows what kind of room their baby would have. Thinking back to the day he left, he had been surprised when she didn't even mention him sliding in the idea of them searching for their house when he got back. She had yet to really agree to move in with him and he was sure if she ever did, she would push for them to live at her place since it was almost a mansion compared to his tiny apartment. Mainly he just imagined being with her again. That's all he wanted. Even now in the less than ideal circumstances, he was grateful to be here with her.<p>

The sedative had obviously done its job because she had not stirred since he had entered the room despite several interruptions by nurses entering to check the various monitors that surrounded her. Her face was so pale though, too pale for his liking, and it worried him what the tests would say whenever they had results. The nurses kept telling him the doctor would know more when he came by for rounds in the morning. That did nothing to ease the knot in his stomach now though.

When he heard the door open again, he expected another nurse to enter for yet another check of her vitals, but the hand on his shoulder signaled this was a more personal visitor. Looking up, he saw Angela's tired eyes as she nodded toward the hallway for him to join her. He looked back at Bones and seeing her still sleeping soundly, he reluctantly let go of her hand and stood to follow.

Following Angela into the hallway, he carefully closed the door behind him as she turned to face him. "You need to have someone take a look at that cut," she began pointedly, arms crossed in determination. "And before you protest, which I know you will, the last thing Brennan needs when she wakes up is to worry about you."

She was right. He was about to protest until she mentioned Bones. There would be enough for both of them to worry about and after everything she had been through, he did not want to be the one to cause her anymore anxiety. "You don't play fair."

"I've just been around the two of you enough to know that you are each other's biggest weakness. Believe me I used the same tactic on her over the last few weeks."

"Was it that bad?" He had known she was going to be difficult to deal with when he was gone, but now he worried that it had been worse than he had anticipated. "How has she been really since I left?"

"She's been okay." The look on his face told her he was not buying that answer. "Well, not exactly okay, but she tried to keep herself preoccupied and focused on work. She wouldn't really admit that she was worried about you, but it was pretty obvious she was missing you. Hacker stopped by a couple of times to check on a case and I saw the look on her face every time she saw him, worried that he was coming to tell her something about you. If she said she couldn't leave for lunch, one of us made sure to bring her something back and stayed long enough to see she was actually eating. And she wasn't happy with Cam when she made Brennan leave at a decent hour every night. I think the nights were the hardest for her. When she came in in the mornings, I could tell she was tired, so I don't think she has been sleeping much."

"So this is my fault." The guilt had been weighing on him from the moment he walked away from her that day three weeks ago and now that she had ended up in the hospital, it was eating him alive. He had put his own desires to close this case ahead of what was best for her and their family. He would never forgive himself for being so selfish.

"No, no." Angela argued, her eyes softening as she reached for his arm. "Booth, this is not your fault. Complications can happen during a pregnancy, but she is getting the care she needs. You cannot blame yourself for any of this."

"I left her, Angela," he snapped. "She is pregnant with my kid and it is my responsibility to take care of them and I left her because I thought this damn case was so important. I should have been here. She has every right to blame me for this." He clenched his fist in frustration, but grimaced when he felt his ribs protesting against his body's movement.

Angela saw the pained expression flash across his face, but knew she had to tread carefully with him. "First of all, no, she does not blame you for anything. She loves you, Booth, and she knows how important your work is to you just like her work is to her. Yes, she missed you and yes, she was worried about you. That isn't anything new." Surprised, Booth looked at her with questioning eyes. "Oh come on, Booth. Do you really think Brennan doesn't worry about you? Remember when you two were doing your little dance running to opposite ends of the earth to avoid facing how you felt about each other? She told me even back then that she worried about you getting hurt on a case. And it wasn't that she didn't want you to do your job. She just wanted to be the one there to protect you."

"That's my job though. I'm supposed to protect her." He heard her quiet laugh as she shook her head at him. "Believe me, I know she thinks I'm too protective of her, but that's just me. That's who I am. I want to take care of the people I love."

"And deep down I know she loves you for it," Angela agreed. "Even when you annoy the hell out of her. But Booth, you fell in love with probably the most stubborn, independent woman either of us will ever meet. She is not going to sit on the sidelines for you or anyone else and believe me, she does not expect that of you either. That doesn't stop you from worrying about each other though. She wants you safe, just like you want her safe. That's just love, Booth."

"I do love her," he whispered, glancing back at the closed door behind them, aching to be back by her side.

This was her opening, so she jumped on it. "If you really love her, then you go get yourself checked out." When he opened his mouth to protest, she held her hand up to stop him. "Nope, don't want to hear it. You are obviously in pain, not to mention you look like hell. And though I know Brennan wants nothing more than to see your face when she wakes up, it does not need to be the face I'm seeing right now."

"Okay," he conceded, his eyes pleading with her. "But will you…"

"I'm not going anywhere," she promised with a smile. "Now go! Get that handsome face all cleaned up and here," she reached behind her and threw a small duffel bag at him. "Sweets went by your office and picked up a change of clothes he knew you kept there. Those raggedy clothes you have on now are not exactly Booth approved."

He smiled, taking the bag from her. "Thanks, Ange." He hesitated before taking his next step, looking back at her. "Thank you for loving my family the way you do."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded, trying to find her voice. "I'll stay with her until you get back. Just go take care of yourself."

* * *

><p>It was closing in on midnight before he made his way back down the hall toward her room. The doctors had moved a little too slow for his liking as they examined him despite his constantly reminding them he had somewhere to be. Thankfully the x-rays showed only bruised ribs and the cut on his head only needed a couple of thin bandages, a nuisance but more desirable than the stitches he had been anticipating. The nurses had obviously taken pity on him and sent him to the employee lounge to take a quick shower. The steaming water had actually felt good against his tight muscles and now with clean clothes, he was starting to feel somewhat human again.<p>

He was thankful Sweets had the foresight to include his cell phone in the bag with the change of clothes. It had pained his heart to see that he had a dozen missed calls from Parker and several text messages asking him when he was going to get to see his dad again. He had told Rebecca as little as possible to help explain why he would not be able to get Parker on the weekend. During their years together, she had learned to not ask too many questions though he saw the worry in her eyes probably imagining the danger he was walking into. Parker seemed to take the news better when he had told him he was going away for work. In his son's simplistic way of thinking, Booth's job was equivalent to a superhero. Always there to save the day and get the bad guy. It wasn't always so black and white in the real world, but he never wanted his son to know any different. He wished now that he had told Rebecca to let Parker spend some time with Bones while he was away. Maybe that would have helped her cope or distract her at least from worrying as much.

The door was partially open and he leaned his head around the corner. Angela was sitting in the chair he had vacated earlier with her arm propping her head up, sound asleep. She must have sensed someone watching her because she quickly jumped, turning around to find him leaning against the doorframe. With a look back to Brennan, she got to her feet and joined him, standing by his side.

"You look better," she whispered with a slight smile. Faded jeans and a plain black FBI t-shirt wasn't like the suit she was used to seeing him in, but it was better than the alternative. "What did the doctor say?"

"Bruised ribs, no stiches." Not taking his eyes off of Brennan's sleeping form, he exhaled slowly, crossing his arms against his tired body.

Angela looked into his worried eyes and slid her arm through his, giving him a comforting squeeze. "Our girl there," she nodded toward her best friend sleeping inside the room. "She's as tough as they come."

"I know," his voice trembled. "I just want her to be okay. Her and the baby. I don't know what I would do…they mean everything to me."

"They will be." Resting her head against his shoulder, she thought of how far these two had come. She had known for years that this was where they should end up, but it had been one battle after another to get them to finally admit how they felt about each other. Finally, after seven long years, her best friend had the man of every girl's dreams, and if Brennan would admit it, her own as well.

"You should get home," Booth whispered. "I appreciate you being here with Bones, but you're tired, not to mention I'm sure little Michael is missing his mom."

"Hodgins is taking care of him, but yeah, I do miss him. I know you want to spend some time with her too, so I'll give you two some space." Returning to the room to get her bag, she slung it over her shoulder before rejoining him in the hall. "Now you," she began, her finger pointed directly at him in mock sternness. "You have to promise me that you will get some rest too. I do admit you look better than you did, but you still look pretty exhausted yourself." She reached up to kiss him on the cheek as he pulled her into a hug. "Call me if you or Brennan need anything at all. I'll do my best to keep the rest of the squint squad away as long as I can, but they are going to want to come by to see her. She had everyone in panic mode tonight. Just tell her I'll be back tomorrow to check on her."

"Thanks, Ange." Booth stepped back with a smile. "She's lucky to have you for a best friend. Both of us are."

"You know I would do anything for you guys, so just say the word," she sighed. "Just take care of my best friend, Booth."

"Promise," he nodded watching her turn to leave. Hesitating by the door, he suddenly felt the weight of exhaustion heavy on his body. It was hard to believe that just this morning he had been working to bring down the biggest drug ring on the east coast. Life had turned upside down in less than 24 hours. It scared him to see her so still, so pale. He was so accustomed to her so full of fire and passion, whether it be about her work or arguing with him about a case. A blush would gently spread across her cheeks and her eyes would turn a shade darker and she would give him that look. That look that was all Bones. That look that had him falling in love with her almost from the moment they met. She had become so intertwined with every aspect of his life in the past seven years that he could not imagine a life without her in it. Squeezing his eyes shut as he felt the sting of tears rising to the surface, he stopped himself. That was too much to think about right now. Not when he was exhausted and feeling his emotions spiraling out of control. Today had been a hell of a day, but as he wrapped his fingers around hers, he was here and she was here. Anything else they would get through together.

Leaning closer to rest his elbows on the edge of the bed, he brought her hand close to his face, pressing small kisses to each of her knuckles. As much as he wanted her to get the rest he knew she needed, there was still a part of him that was anxious to see her eyes and hear her voice. So when he felt the flinch of her fingers against his, his heart jumped to his throat. "Bones?" he whispered. Looking up he saw her eyes struggling to open. At the sound of his voice, she slowly turned her head toward him with a look of confusion on her face.

"Booth?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she fought to focus her gaze on him.

"Hey." A huge smile spread across his face as leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "I'm here. I'm right here."

"But..." she stuttered. "Where…what…"

"Shh." Brushing a stray hair away from her face, he let his fingers linger against her face. "Just rest. I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

He was not sure she had heard him and if she did, whether she even comprehended the words he was saying, but she nodded and it was only a moment later when her eyes fluttered shut again. Watching her chest move evenly with each breath she took, he could see that she had fallen back asleep. Chances were she wouldn't remember any of that brief conversation, but it didn't matter. Her voice had been music to his ears. He could sleep now, knowing she was still here with him. Everything else they would handle together. So with another quick kiss to her fingers, he held her hand tight in his own as he laid his head down next to her and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hope you enjoy! Feedback is appreciated, so thanks to those who have taken the time to comment!**

**~ Dee**

* * *

><p>The first sensation that she's aware of is blackness, total and utter blackness, as if she had fallen in some endless black hole. There is a faint beeping that sounds as if it is coming from the end of a long hallway. The heaviness hits her next and when she tries to move her arms or legs they feel as if they are made of lead. It takes extreme effort, but she finally opens her eyes, confused as to why her vision is blurry as she blinks several times trying to focus. Her mind still seemed to be stuck in neutral as she tried to piece together where she was and what was happening to her body. Panic began to creep in as the images from the past 24 hours began to surface. She's in the hospital. Her reflexes are still dulled, so it takes a moment before she's able to slide her hand up her body to touch her rounded stomach. Feeling a stiff kick from her daughter just below her ribs, she swallowed hard in relief. Continuing to take in her surroundings, she is finally able to turn her head against the stiff pillow behind her. It's then that she realizes she is not alone. At first she believed her eyes were simply playing a trick on her, but as she continued to blink through the fog, she realized the truth. Leaning uncomfortably against her bed, sound asleep, was Booth. With one hand still trying to sooth her daughter, she slowly slid her other hand toward him, her movements still sluggish. The moment her fingers brushed against his head, he bolted upright, a grimace crossing his face as his sniper vision scanned the room for any sign of threat. When their eyes finally met, panicked alarm crossed her face as she saw the remnants of his undercover assignment on his face.<p>

"Booth!" She struggled to clear her throat when she heard her raspy voice. "Your head…what happened? Are you okay? Who did this to you?"

Seeing her struggling to sit up, he jumped up from his chair and reached for her arms, trying to keep her from moving any further. "Hey, hold on there…Bones. You need to lie back and take it easy."

"No," she demanded, taking in the bandages and bruises on his face. Fear was suddenly helping to clear the fog from her mind. "You're hurt, Booth. Tell me what happened."

Why was he not surprised she would react this way to seeing his beat up face? Remembering the site of his own reflection from the night before, he was grateful yet again for Angela's suggestion he get checked out. If she was reacting this way now, he did not even want to imagine what her reaction would have been if she had seen him last night. That drug dealer had certainly done a number on him. Knowing he had to come up with something to calm her down, he grabbed her hand before easing back down in his abandoned chair. He hesitated, trying to bide time to come up with the simplest story he could so as to put her mind at ease. "Really, I'm okay. Just fighting off the bad guys as usual." Seeing the concern on her face, he knew she had completely missed his small attempt at humor. "I had a doctor check me out and I'm fine. I don't want you worrying about me."

"Are you sure?" Her voice cracking, she felt the tears start to sting her eyes both from fear over his injuries and relief to have him beside her. "With your history, you know head injuries concern me." Searching his face, she gauged his response to see if the slight nod of his head was indeed the truth. Her concern had taken precedence over anything else, but as her fear started to subside, she could focus on just how very grateful she was to be touching him again.

As if sensing her thoughts, he squeezed her hand, sliding his chair to the edge of the bed so he could get closer to her. "No head injury, I promise. So now that we have established that I am okay, what about you, huh? How are you feeling?"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she bit her lip trying to reign in her emotions. This was definitely the part of pregnancy she would not miss. The pure lack of control over her emotions was something that still took her by surprise. One minute she was the confident, successful anthropologist with nerves of steel and the next she was crying over a dead body. Her brain understood the biological excuse of hormones causing her shifting moods, but it was not in her nature to accept it. In those moments she had tried to convince herself that she couldn't wait to get back to being herself, able to lock her emotions away like she had learned long ago. There were other times though when she wondered if she had somehow changed so much that she would never go back to who she once was…or if she even wanted to.

After seven years of knowing Booth, she thought she knew him well enough that she could read his thoughts, if she had believed in such a thing. But looking at him now, she was at a complete loss. There were so many emotions in his eyes, but the one that stood out the most was the one she had been feeling herself. Fear. "I'm okay," she whispered, trying to reassure him. "I just…I wish…" The thoughts were getting all jumbled in her head and it was hard to focus. Shaking her head in frustration, she gripped his hand tighter. "I hate feeling this way. It's like I'm in a fog and my mind cannot form rational thoughts."

"That's probably just the lingering effects from the sedative," he smiled sympathetically. "The doctor wanted you to get some rest last night, so Angela said he prescribed a sedative to help you relax." The exhaustion was evident on her face as she collapsed back against the pillows, throwing an arm over her tired eyes. Suddenly he was hearing Sweets' voice again at the crime scene telling him that she was in the hospital. The fear he felt at that moment was nothing like anything he had ever experienced in his life. Even now, with her here beside him, that fear still had him knotted up inside. "Bones?" Opening her eyes at his prompting, her breath caught in her chest when she saw the tears in his eyes. Squeezing his hand, she held onto him tightly. "When Sweets showed up at the crime scene, I knew…I knew something was wrong and I just..." His breath shuddered as he remembered that horrible moment, not knowing for sure, but imagining the worst. "Please, please, do not ever scare me like that again."

Thoughts from last night had slowly started to reemerge as she remembered what had happened that lead her to end up here. And now seeing him so consumed with fear and anxiousness, overwhelming guilt started to gnaw at her. What if he had been hurt because they pulled him out of his undercover assignment early? That had been her concern when they first mentioned contacting him when they insisted on bringing her to the hospital. That he would be hurt because of her. Only three weeks. She couldn't even hold things together for three weeks. She had been so worried about not being there to protect him, he had instead ended up hurt because of her. Squeezing her eyes shut again, she swallowed hard against the guilt that was creeping up on her. "It's my fault. I'm so sorry."

The sound of her apology was the last thing he had expected. As his tired mind tried to process, he was silently studying her, confused as to why she was reacting this way. What had happened to make her think she had a reason to apologize to him? It hit him then that maybe there was something he didn't know. Maybe there was something wrong with her or the baby that no one had told him. His body went rigid with worry when he saw how upset she was. Then she turned away from him, turning her head to the opposite wall to put up that distance. He had seen her like this before and he knew she was shutting down to keep from facing whatever it was that was on her mind. After all this time together, he knew the signs and he was not going to let her go there. His fear multiplied rapidly as he was afraid of what she was hiding. If something was wrong with either of them, he would never forgive himself. "Look at me, Bones." When she refused to look his way, he cradled her face in his hands, forcing her to turn back to him. "What's going on? Is there something you're not telling me? Is it the baby? Is the baby okay?"

Hearing the anxiety in his voice, she quickly reached up to smooth the worry lines from his face. "The baby is fine. I promise, Booth. I would tell you if there was something wrong."

"Is it…is it you?" He could barely get the words out around the huge lump in his throat. Her face was still too pale for his liking and no one had yet to give him the real cause of her being here in the first place. Though her eyes welled with tears, she shook her head no, which only confused him further. "What is it then?"

"It's my fault," she whimpered, biting her lip to hold back a sob. "I begged them not to call you because I was afraid this would happen, that you would get hurt. And you did. The last thing I ever want is for you to be hurt, Booth, and I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise to you while you were gone. I obviously am not as strong as I thought I was."

"What are you talking about? Bones, you are the strongest person I have ever met. You being in here is not your fault. And secondly, you had nothing to do with me getting hurt. I didn't find out about you being in the hospital until after the arrests had already been made. The case was over by then." Gently his thumbs wiped away the tears that were falling down her face. "I messed up and let my guard down for just a second. That's how I got the colorful face here."

"But you asked me to take care of myself and within three weeks of you leaving, I end up in the hospital. How am I supposed to take care of an infant when I cannot even take care of myself?"

With steady tears falling from her weary eyes, Booth recognized the signs of a mood swing. He had been lucky that these had been at a minimum the first few months of her pregnancy, but even before he had left for his undercover assignment they had begun to become more frequent. He had learned to let her just ride it out instead of trying to convince her that she was being irrational. That was a one-time mistake that he would most definitely not be making again.

Rising to sit on the edge of the bed, he pulled her into his arms and just let her cry. It went against his nature to sit back and do nothing when she was hurting like this. His first instinct was always to protect her from anything that would cause her pain, so when she fell apart like this, he felt helpless. Her cries tugged at his heart as rocked her in his arms. As her tears began to slow, he felt her tighten her hold on him, pulling him closer as he in turn did the same. Though he wished it was under different circumstances, he couldn't help the feeling of joy that filled him just holding her again.

As he eased the hold his arms had on her, he leaned back to look at her. "I missed you." The smile inched up his face as he leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. "And you," he cooed, looking down at her extended belly as he felt their daughter kicking against him.

Brennan let out a small laugh at the change in the tone of his voice when he was talking to their daughter. She had tried to explain to him that it was not possible for their daughter to be able to make out the words he was saying, but that didn't stop him. And despite herself, she had found herself doing the same exact thing in the weeks he was gone. Somehow it had just felt right to continue the nightly conversations with her in his absence.

"I missed you too," she confessed softly. "I just did not want to interfere when I knew you were undercover." Her eyes followed her fingers as she gently traced the outline of the cuts and bruises on his face. "That's the only reason I didn't want Cam to call you. I never really saw the reason to come to the hospital in the first place, but Angela and Cam insisted. I thought it would just be a routine checkup and they would let me go home. I had no intention of staying here overnight. But, I must confess now that you are here, I feel much more at peace."

"Good," he grinned. "That's how I want to make you feel." As his lips moved softly up her face, kissing her temple, he chuckled as she sighed in contentment. "I always want to make you feel safe and happy. And I don't want you worrying about me so much. Now that I have everything I ever wanted, there is nothing that is going to keep me away."

"Well, it will be easier to not worry about you as much once I'm back in the field with you," she smiled happily. "Hopefully within a week or two, I'll be ready to get back to some sense of normalcy."

"You're kidding, right?" Jerking back to look at her, she was caught by surprise at the intensity in his eyes. "There is no way in hell you are going back in the field."

"What are you talking about?" She stared back at him in confusion, not understanding the ferocity in his voice. "Booth, I am perfectly capable of working. Most experts agree that women can work up until the birth, so there is no reason I should not be able to do the same."

"I am not letting you step foot out of that lab," he demanded. "Bones, you are in the hospital with complications and the last thing you need is the stress and danger of being out in the field. You're not going back out there. I forbid it."

"You forbid it?" Anger ignited within her as she steeled herself to fight back. "You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do!"

He should have known this was going to turn into a fight. As much as he loved her, he knew she would not be rational on this subject and it angered him that she could not see where he was coming from. "I have every right! She is my daughter too and I have every right to make sure she is protected. Not to mention I love you and I want to keep you safe."

The paleness that had greeted him before was rapidly replaced by pure red as the blood rushed to her face. "I am not going to tolerate being treated like a child!" She had pulled away from him as her hands gripped the railing of the bed, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. "You do not make my decisions for me, Booth!"

The anger that filled her voice finally made him snap back, gazing at the familiarity of the hospital room and remembering what was at stake. Looking back at her, he noticed how heavy her breathing had become. They shouldn't be doing this right now. "It's okay, Bones, it's okay," his voice calmed into a gentler tone. "Listen, fighting about this is the last thing we need to be doing. Just take a deep breath and calm down."

"Don't patronize me, Booth!"

"Please," he pleaded. "I promise we will talk about this later. But right now, please just take it easy. Your blood pressure is already high and if something were to happen to either of you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Her breathing slowed as her fingers slowly started to loosen from the railing. "Please."

Their eyes remained locked as they fell into a silent battle of wills. Before either could speak again, the door suddenly opened as Angela came bouncing into the room, arms loaded down. "I have coffee and I have muffins. Anyone up for breakfast?" It did not take long before she realized that she had walked in on something. "Okay, so do I go back out and try coming in again?"

"No, it's fine," Booth finally spoke, never taking his eyes off of Brennan. "I need to check in with the office anyway. I'll be back."

He forced a smile as he stood and walked past Angela, leaning in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek and grabbing one of the cups from the tray she held. "I will take one of these though. Thanks." Grimacing as the hot liquid burned his mouth, he kept walking forward, closing the door quietly behind him as he escaped into the hallway.

Looking back at her best friend who was staring a hole in the blanket in front of her, she cautiously approached. "So, I'm guessing that all is not well in the Booth-Brennan world this morning. What's up?"

"Booth does not want me to go back into the field."

"Of course he doesn't. That's a crazy idea." Brennan glared at her in disbelief. "Okay, let me rephrase that. It's crazy for you to go back out there while you are pregnant. Sweetie, as much as you do not want to admit it, your body cannot get around like you did six months ago. Being in the field is dangerous as has been proven by the number of times you've been shot at or kidnapped or almost blown up."

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I am useless," she huffed, crossing her arms in frustration. "Why do people treat pregnancy as some hormone fueled condition that makes women mindless and incapable of being just as effective in their work as they were before they got pregnant?"

"Hey now, you're talking to a woman who was pregnant not that long ago." Angela set the coffee and muffin bag down as she sat down beside her best friend. "And I happened to have been at work in the lab, helping to solve a case I might add, when Michael finally decided it was time to join the world. But the point is, I was in the lab. I was not out there chasing bad guys and having guns pointed at me."

"It's not like that happens every day," she tried to argue. "And I know how to take care of myself. Booth has always been overprotective, but that does not give him the right to make decisions for me."

"Put yourself in his shoes," Angela tried to reason. "He comes back after being gone for three weeks to find you in the hospital. You and his baby girl could be at risk and he's terrified. He does not want anything near you that could hurt you."

As much as she wanted to tell Angela she was wrong, she knew there was some validity to what she was saying. Over the past couple of months she had become frustrated by the lack of energy to keep up with Booth when they had been investigating a case. She had seen it in his eyes that he was concerned, but to his credit, he had remained silent for the most part. However, if his excuses to take the long way back to work after leaving a crime scene or the way he shortened his strides to allow her to keep up with him were any indication, he knew she was exhausted. He had been looking out for her like he always did and she continued to fight him every step of the way.

"I find that I am not good at this." The tears were back, much to her chagrin. "I do not know how to be in a relationship with someone. I have spent too many years by myself."

"But you are not by yourself anymore, Brennan." Angela smiled sympathetically. "You have this little person that is going to be here in a few months and she's going to want you to be here for her. Not to mention her daddy who simply adores you."

"So you're saying I should just do what Booth says?"

"No, sweetie." Angela reached for her hand, giving her a comforting squeeze. "What I'm saying is hear him out without becoming defensive and telling him he has no say so in how you live your life. Because you are a family now, you and Booth and this little girl, and you have to accept that what happens to you affects the people who love you. The two of them in particular."

Hastily wiping away the remainder of her tears, she sighed with exhaustion. "I am just not used to having other people depend on me."

"We all depend on you, Bren," Angela smiled. "Whether it's to keep the lab running or finding that one piece of evidence that none of the rest of us are smart enough to find. But now you have Booth and this baby girl who are going to depend on you even more. I know it's hard for you after you spent all those years keeping people out of your heart, but things are different now. You have a real family, sweetie."

Nodding slowly, Brennan smiled softly at her friend. If she had had a sister, she would have imagined her being just like Angela. Someone who could see her for who she was and love her anyway. Someone who would give her the advice she did not want to hear even when she knew she needed it. "Thanks, Ange. I will try to remember that."

"Good! Now when that man of yours gets back in here, you grab him and kiss him until he's breathless," she laughed. "Then tell him you love him beyond reason."

"Beyond reason?" Brennan questioned. "I don't know what that means."

"Think about it sweetie." Angela grinned as she heard familiar footsteps reentering the room. "I think you can figure that one out." They both turned to see Booth hesitantly walking through the door as he slid his cell phone into his front pocket. "And with that, I'm going to go check in on my little man to see how he's doing." Giving Brennan's hand a quick squeeze, her face lit up with a smile. "Remember what I said, okay? I'll be back."

As she brushed past Booth, she gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Hang in there," she whispered.

Booth nodded slightly, waiting until the door closed again behind her. Looking back into the room, he saw Brennan fidgeting with the edges of the blanket that covered her, avoiding him. She looked so small in that bed and for a moment, he could almost picture their daughter looking much the same way years down the road. If she turned out to be anything like her mother, he knew he had his work cut out for him. He waited a moment longer before forcing his feet forward to stand next to her bed.

Feeling his presence beside her, she finally looked up. "Booth, we need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

**Whew! For some reason, this chapter was a tough one to write, so thanks for being patient with me. Hope you enjoy!**

**~ Dee**

* * *

><p>"<em>Booth, we need to talk."<em>

His first instinct was to turn right back around and high tail it out of the room at those dreaded words. The thought of continuing their earlier discussion made him feel even more exhausted than he already was. This was not a subject matter that would get resolved anytime soon and it would more than likely end up in another argument and he did not have the energy for that right now. And he knew her. She was like a pit bull when it came to something she believed in so strongly and she was not going to back down. Under normal circumstances, he would go toe to toe with her, but she was already in the hospital with complications with her pregnancy. The thought of her getting upset again made him more worried than he already was.

Exhaling slowly, he sat back down on the edge of the bed beside her, rubbing his tired eyes with the palms of his hands. "Bones, I don't want to talk about this right now. It's just going to lead to us arguing and I am not going to put you or our baby at risk because we cannot agree on this. I can't do that. I won't."

Reaching for his hand, she realized the anger she had felt earlier had dissolved. Her talk with Angela had at least helped her to see things from his perspective, even if she didn't necessarily agree. "I promise, I won't get upset, Booth. I just want to talk."

"Can't we just wait until we know you and the baby aren't in any danger?" he begged.

"Just hear me out, okay?" Giving his hand a comforting squeeze, she settled back against the pillow behind her as she saw him reluctantly nod his head. "I understand that you feel it is too dangerous for me to be back in the field while I'm pregnant and I will admit that I am not as physically able of performing the duties associated with field work right now. However, I feel like I can still contribute when you are interviewing a witness or collecting evidence. But, I promise I will concede that if you believe there to be a threat, I will stay in the lab instead of accompanying you."

It was not totally what he wanted, but the fact that she was conceding anything surprised him. Though he still wasn't convinced she completely understood his side of this issue. "Bones, of course you can contribute to any case. That's not what I was trying to say. Believe me, I would be lost trying to solve a case without you. I just know you and when you are on a case you give everything you have and I love that about you. But you go full speed ahead without thinking of your own welfare first and that scares me. When you are in the lab, no problem, but in the field where there could be someone with a gun or any other kind of weapon, it's too dangerous." Hearing the edge in his voice, he quickly linked his fingers through hers, forcing it to soften. "Ever since we became partners, I have tried to give you space, even when it went against my gut. It has never been about not trusting you or not believing you could take care of yourself though. I do trust you and I know how strong you are." He hesitated, waiting for her to interject, but she remained silent with a look of concentration on her face as she absorbed his words. "But I still worry about you. I always have and I always will. I know that makes you feel smothered and I try to back off because I never want to push you away, but it's just who I am."

"Mr. Alpha Male," she whispered with a smirk.

"I know, I know," he grinned. "That drives you crazy. Maybe I was born with that instinct, who knows. I just know when I was a kid and my dad would be drinking, I saw how scared Jared would be. Something clicked inside of me and I knew I had to protect him. I have always just wanted to protect the people I love."

"I know I don't make it easy for you, Booth," she began, her lips curving into a slight smile. "I spent years compartmentalizing my feelings so that no one could ever hurt me the way my family did. I loved them and they left me, so I promised myself that I would never depend on anyone again. I never wanted to feel that kind of hurt again so I just started relying on myself. But then you happened." She paused to blink back the tears that she felt starting to sting her eyes. "And I still struggle with depending on you." When he started to protest, she pressed a finger to his lips. "I know I can count on you, Booth. There is no one I trust more than you, but like your protective nature is a part of who you are, my independence is a part of me. It's not what it once was and that is because of you, but it's still there and it rears up on occasion, which I know frustrates you."

Grinning, he leaned forward pressing his lips against hers, taking her by surprise. "Frustration is an understatement. No one has ever frustrated me as much as you do, but then again, I have never loved anyone as much as I love you either."

Framing his face with her hands, she stared into his eyes, holding him close. "That goes both ways, Booth."

"So we can agree that you will at least cut back on the field work and if things are too dangerous, you will listen to me and stay in the lab?" The moment he saw her brows furrow, he knew it was not going to be as simple as that.

"Only if you will agree to temper your overprotectiveness and trust me to know my own limitations," she countered, rubbing her index finger against the crease on his forehead. "See, right here. You worry too much as it is. These worry lines have no place on a face this handsome."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Bones," he whispered, leaning in for another kiss.

This is what she had missed the most in the three weeks he was gone. These simple moments just being with him when it felt like they were the only two people in the world. Never one to spend a weekend locked away unless it was for work, she was seriously thinking that this upcoming weekend was the perfect time to do just that. No cell phones, no television, no computers, no work. Just the two of them together making up for lost time.

Ending their kiss, she saw him start to lean back when a grimace suddenly crossed his face. "What is it?" she asked anxiously.

"Just a little sore," he groaned, pain evident in his voice. "You know that chair is not the most comfortable way to sleep."

Her eyes scanned the still pained expression on his face as her fingers reached to brush against his rib cage. He flinched as if she had shocked him and scooted back to escape her reach. "You injured your ribs during your undercover assignment, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me, Booth? Did you have the doctor examine those as well? Broken ribs can lead to breathing problems or pneumonia. You could have hemorrhaging…"

"Hold on, hold on." He saw the worry on her face and laid a hand on her knee to reassure her. "I promise, the doctor said just bruised, not broken. Now remember what you just told me about worrying? You need to take your own advice there, Bones."

"Of course I worry about you, Booth," she shook her head in confusion. "I love you and I don't want you to be hurt."

"And you don't see the double standard there?" he questioned with amusement on his face. "You can worry about me, but I'm not supposed to worry about you."

"I was just…I mean you are…" Stumbling over her words, she found she was unsure how to explain her feelings to him. "It's just different."

"And how is that?" he teased. "Are you going to quote some more anthropological facts about the alpha male again?"

"You," she began hesitantly, surprised by the sudden lump in her throat. "You are my family, Booth. You and our daughter are my family and if something took you away from me, I could not live through that. Not again. I did it once…those two weeks when I thought you were dead, when everyone told me you were dead." Wiping quickly at the tear that slipped unexpectedly down her face, she reached her other hand to grab his again, pressing it tightly. "I did not think I was going to make it then. I forced myself to work, to try to continue through the routine nature of each day, but it felt like I was suffocating. And although now I realize I loved you even back then, it is nothing like how much I love you now. I wouldn't make it through something like that again, Booth. I couldn't do it."

Speechless, he tried to get his tired mind to process her words. It was never that he doubted that she loved him, but he had often felt like their relationship wasn't on equal ground. He always thought maybe he needed her more than she did him. She was the strongest, most independent person he had ever known and he wasn't sure if she would ever let anyone in close enough to physically need them in her life. To hear her tell him otherwise made him happy and worried at the same time.

"Bones, you have your Dad and Russ too," he tried to soothe her. "Not to mention you have this little one here. If something happened to me…"

"Don't," her voice broke as she pleaded. "Please do not say that." She paused in an attempt to steady her emotions. "My dad and Russ, they walked out on me once. I don't know if I would ever be able to completely trust them again. And even now, they come in and out of my life at their convenience. I love my father and my brother, but I know I am not a priority for them. They could just as easily leave me again tomorrow."

"But I left you too, Bones," he confessed guiltily. Seeing her eyes squint in confusion, he felt even guiltier about that time in their lives. "After I returned from Afghanistan and with Hannah…I was just so hurt and angry. Being around you made it harder, so I kept my distance. It was selfish of me, I know, and I hate myself for how I was with you then."

"I admit I did not like being distant from you, but I understood why," she tried to reassure him. "I knew I had hurt you, but even then, you never left me. Maybe our relationship was different in some ways, but when I needed you, I knew I could count on you. Like that night on the street during the Eames case, you were there to push me out of the way of that car. The world had turned upside down for me, but you helped me put it back right again, just like you always do."

"I think you give me too much credit, Bones."

"I love you, Booth," she declared, her hand gently caressing his bruised face. "And you are the most important person in my life. I hope you never doubt that."

"Ditto, Bones," he whispered with a smile. "Ditto."

Turning his head to press a gentle kiss to the palm of her hand, he felt the emotional and physical exhaustion weighing heavily. She must have noticed the sudden droop of his eyes as she dropped her hand to his again and began to pull him up closer to her. Eyeing the tubes and wires around her, he pulled back, shaking his head.

"You're exhausted," she stated. "So you have two options. You can either go home to get some sleep or you can slide up here and lay down beside me." The defiant look that crossed his face told her that he had no intentions of leaving this room. She smiled as he gingerly slid himself up the bed, mindful to not disturb her IV or monitors. "Good choice."

As he eased his body beside her, she turned as much as her body would allow into his, resting her head against his shoulder. "I missed this." He sighed in contentment, kissing the crown of her head. "I'm thinking this weekend, we just stay in bed all day and shut out the rest of the world."

"Great minds do think alike," she replied dreamily, snuggling in closer to his warmth.

Both fell silent as their bodies relaxed and drifted toward sleep. Twenty minutes later, Angela found them in that exact position, sound asleep. She had been killing time in the gift shop and the cafeteria after calling to check on Michael, hoping to give Brennan and Booth time to work things out. From the look of them wrapped in each other's arms, her plan had obviously been successful. Easing the door closed again, she bumped into Sweets who had appeared behind her. She quickly pressed a finger to her lips telling him to be quiet while ushering him to the other end of the hallway to ensure they were out of earshot. "They're both asleep," she explained softly. "Which is a good thing because they were both about to keel over from exhaustion."

"How is Dr. Brennan?" Sweets asked anxiously. "Any news from the doctor on what is wrong?"

"Still waiting," she frowned. "After I left her and Booth in there earlier, I hunted down a nurse for some answers. Didn't do much good since they wouldn't or couldn't tell me anything new. Supposedly the doctor is coming sometime this afternoon."

"They are not going to be able to keep Dr. Brennan here for long, I hope they know that," he grimaced. "I'm surprised that she hasn't been demanding to go home before now."

"Well, I think a certain FBI agent has been keeping her mind occupied," she smiled. "She's just so happy to have Booth here, I don't think it has even crossed her mind about going home yet. Of course, that's not going to last long. By the way, thank you for going to get him. She was being pretty defiant last night and Booth is really the only one who can deal with her when she gets like that."

"She was scared, though I doubt that she would ever admit to that." Sweets had seen enough of Temperance Brennan through the years to know when she was hiding behind her real feelings. He had observed her on more than one occasion and quickly learned that Booth was the only one who could break through those walls she built. "As strange as it may sound, in some ways Booth helps Dr. Brennan to see things more logically."

"You mean Brennan, the queen of logic?" she scoffed.

He smiled at her reference. "Yes, Dr. Brennan is quite logical when it comes to science and tangible evidence that you can see and touch. But Booth helps her to see the logical, rational side of emotions and thoughts that are normal and commonplace to the rest of this. She in turn helps him see the scientific side of things when he would rather rely on faith alone. They really do balance each other out."

"Even when they are driving the rest of us crazy," Angela laughed as her eyes quickly diverted to the tall, lean man approaching from the end of the hallway. With a stethoscope thrown haphazardly around his neck and a metal chart in his hand, she quickly recognized him as Brennan's doctor from last night. Moving away from Sweets, she swiftly approached him with concern on her face. "Dr. Larsen," she sighed in relief. "Are those Brennan's test results? How is she? Are you going to release her?"

The doctor took a step back, surprised by the determined assertion of the woman standing in front of him. "Yes, Ms. Montenegro, I do have Dr. Brennan's test results, but I'm afraid I will need to share the information with her alone. Doctor-patient confidentiality, you understand."

"Oh, of course," her face flushed with embarrassment. "I understand. It's just that she's my best friend and I know she's not the best patient. She can be stubborn and uncooperative as I'm sure you know. You should have seen what it took to even get her to the hospital and…"

"Angela."

She stopped at the sound of Sweets' voice realizing she had been rambling to the doctor. "I'm sorry," she apologized, biting her lip to keep her tears at bay. "I'm just worried."

"It's okay," the doctor nodded in affirmation. "I promise you we will do our best to take care of Dr. Brennan and her baby. She's fortunate to have friends who care so much."

"Okay," Angela stepped aside to allow him to pass by. "Thank you. And just so you know they're sleeping right now. I didn't want you to startle them."

"Got it," he smiled as he walked past her to knock softly on the closed door.

Inside the room, Booth's sniper reflexes were on immediate alert when he heard muffled voices on the other side of the door. The moment the door began to crack open, his body jumped, immediately waking Brennan. "What?" she asked groggily. "What is it?"

Before he could respond, Dr. Larsen made his way into the room. "Sorry to wake you both, but I have Dr. Brennan's test results that I wanted to go over with you."

Booth swallowed hard as he felt the knot in his stomach tighten again. Sliding his feet to the floor, he moved back to the nearby chair, nervously squeezing her hand. Looking back at Brennan, he saw the worry in her eyes and he knew that she was feeling the same nervousness. They had yet to talk about the fear that was most prominent on their minds. When he felt her grip on his hand tighten further, he locked eyes with her, trying to reassure her that they could face whatever they were about to hear.

Flipping open the chart he held in his hands, the doctor moved closer to the end of the bed to give them the news they were waiting on. "We ran several tests and while overall your health is good, I do have some concerns."

Brennan let out a shuddered breath as Booth's gaze focused on the edge of her bed, where their hands were tangled together. Moving his thumb to softly stroke her palm, he tried to soothe her even when he felt like his heart was beating outs of his chest.

"We ran a blood panel and a urine test which indicated a small amount of protein. That along with several high blood pressure readings is indicative of preeclampsia." Seeing the terror that passed over their faces, he quickly continued. "But the good news is your blood pressure has stabilized and while it's not where I would like it to be, it is much improved over when you arrived last night."

"So what's next?" Booth's voice cracked. "What do we need to do to make sure they are both okay?"

"Both mother and baby are stable and vitals are strong," he reassured them. "I believe this to only be a very mild case so I do not feel we need to take any drastic measures. I'm prescribing an antihypertensive medication to lower your blood pressure and I want to see you for a follow up in my office in two weeks."

"Okay," Brennan nodded feeling like she could breathe again. "That's not so bad." Turning to Booth, she gave him a halfhearted smile. "We can deal with that, right?"

Booth was not as convinced as the doctor continued. "If you avoid stress and take the medication to get your blood pressure under control, along with bed rest, I have no doubt you can carry to term."

Hoping that would ease his worry, she sighed in relief. "See, Booth," she began before the doctor's words fully registered. "Wait. You said bed rest?"

"Yes." After having her for a patient the last two years, he had known this was going to end up being the difficult part of their conversation. "Yes, Dr. Brennan, I said bed rest. At least until your next appointment."

"Is that really necessary?" she protested. "What if I stayed off my feet and just worked in my office?"

"Bones, no…"

"No, Dr. Brennan," the doctor interrupted Booth. "I mean full bed rest, at home. There is no compromising on that. Your blood pressure is still elevated and if you want this to continue to be a healthy pregnancy, you will do just that. We can reevaluate in two weeks when you come in and if your blood pressure is back to normal and you show no further signs of complications, we can discuss a reduced work schedule."

Though she wanted to argue further, she finally surrendered, nodding tiredly as she looked to Booth who met her gaze evenly. She wouldn't risk the baby's health for anything, but one look in his dark, serious eyes and she knew that he would be playing strict, uncompromising warden for the rest of her pregnancy. His overprotectiveness had just shifted into the next gear. Letting out a shaky breath, she nodded again. "I understand."

"That's what I wanted to hear," he began. "I am going to send the nurse back in for one more check of your vitals and blood pressure and if nothing has changed, I'm going to send you home. I know you are not happy about the bed rest, but for your own well-being as well as your baby's, it's for the best."

"She'll do it," Booth finally spoke with a look of determination on his face. "I'll make sure she takes it easy."

"Good luck to you both," he smiled warmly. "If you have any questions or need anything, don't hesitate to call my office. I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

They both watched him turn and leave, waiting for the other to be the first to speak. However, before the door could even close with the doctor's exit, Angela had it open again, marching in the room.

"So what is it? What did he say?" she demanded impatiently.

Booth looked at Brennan who was still silent and decided he would have to be the one to give the rundown of what had been said. "Mild case of preeclampsia." Angela gasped in shock as his shaky voice hesitated, fearing the worse. "But he seems to think with medication and rest, Bones and the baby will both be fine. We just have to keep her blood pressure down and make sure she stays off her feet for at least the next couple of weeks."

"Bed rest?" Angela quipped. "He put Brennan on bed rest?"

"Yes," Booth sighed in frustration, turned his gaze back to Brennan as his tone became stern. "And she's going to do it, right?"

"I said I would, didn't I?" she snapped. "I don't think it's completely necessary, but if Dr. Larsen thinks it's the best thing for our daughter, I'll do it."

Angela leaned in close, whispering to her in a firm, even tone. "And just so you're aware, I will be watching you like a hawk too, making sure that you follow doctor's orders to a tee. That means no funny business, sweetie. You got that?" She smiled sympathetically. "Besides, no one wants to deal with Booth if you're not taking care of yourself."

Brennan looked back to Booth who let out a long, trembling sigh, shaking his head. When his eyes met hers, she could feel the emotion rolling off of him as he spoke. "I know this is not what you wanted, but your health and our daughter's is the only thing that matters. If something happened to you on my watch, I would never forgive myself."

Tears filled her eyes at the intensity of his words. Opening her mouth to speak, she found that the words would not come. Swallowing hard, she started to try again when the nurse approached from behind Angela.

"Dr. Larsen wants me to do another quick check of your vitals and if things look good, I have your discharge papers ready to go."

Nodding silently, Brennan stuck her arm out for the blood pressure cuff and opened her mouth to receive the thermometer. The room fell quiet as the nurse continued to eye the monitors while waiting for the beep of the blood pressure monitor to check the reading. They all watched as she scribbled numbers down on the chart in her hands, waiting anxiously for the final results.

"Looks good," she assured them. "Your blood pressure is still elevated at 130 over 90, but Dr. Larsen said that was within the range for us to discharge you. I will go get your discharge papers as well as the prescription for the blood pressure medicine he prescribed. So just sit tight and I'll be right back to get that IV out for you and get you on your way."

Angela turned back to the two of them as the nurse made her exit and reached for Brennan's free hand giving it a gentle squeeze. "If you need anything at all sweetie, you know I'm just a phone call away."

"Thanks Angela." Brennan shook her head wearily. "I appreciate all that you did for me last night. I'll call you soon once we're all settled."

"I know I don't really need to say this, but take care of her, Booth," Angela said firmly.

Waiting for Angela to close the door behind her, Brennan turned back to Booth who still had that same look of worry on his face. "I can feel you worrying," she sighed tiredly. "I promise I will do exactly what the doctor says, Booth. I would never do anything to jeopardize our daughter."

Whispering gently, he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I know you won't. But just be patient with me because I'm going to worry until I know you are okay and she's here, safe and sound in my arms."

"She will be soon," she smiled as she pulled him back down for another kiss. "I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again, thanks for the feedback and the alert adds...hope you enjoy!**

**~Dee**

* * *

><p>Patience had never been a virtue for Temperance Brennan, so sitting in a hospital room waiting for a nurse to return with the papers that would give her her freedom, she was well past her limit. To his credit, Booth had tried to distract her by filling her in on the details of his undercover assignment and how he had ended up with a black and blue face. She had a feeling he was softening some of the more disturbing details so she wouldn't worry. The more she heard though, the more she worried. It was always a tricky thing with undercover assignments. Always having to wonder what would happen when or if those you helped put in prison would come looking for you one day. They had helped put numerous criminals in jail over the last seven years, so the odds were their luck would run out one day. She had always prided herself on living in the moment, but something about becoming a mother had shifted her way of thinking. Suddenly, the future became something to worry about.<p>

"Are you even listening to me, Bones?"

Drawing her away from her thoughts, she looked to Booth who was calling for her attention. She didn't want him to worry even more by telling him her train of thought, so she gave a halfhearted smile. "Sorry. I think Angela calls it 'pregnancy brain.' I was just thinking about what all we needed to do when the nurse finally returns with my release papers."

"Looked like you were thinking hard," he frowned. "Maybe too hard."

Shaking her head, she tried to reassure him. "I'm just ready to get out of here. That's all."

Before he could respond, here was a knock at the door and in walked who he assumed was the long awaited nurse with a stack of papers in her hands. "Sorry about the delay, Dr. Brennan. Nurse Johnson was called away to deal with another patient. I'm Linda Allen, Nurse Manager for this floor, so she asked me to get everything ready for your dismissal. I spoke with Dr. Larsen and he has signed off on your chart, so I have your get out of jail free card right here."

Booth could see the confused expression cross Brennan's face, so he stepped in before she could voice her question to the nurse. "She just means your hospital release papers, Bones."

"Yes," she chuckled as Brennan finally nodded her head in understanding. "Most patients view this place as a jail. I surely can't think of any other place people are so anxious to get away from." Setting the papers aside, she reached for her arm, untangling the IV line that was wrapped around her. "Now for the really fun part."

Watching as she began to loosen the tape that had been holding the IV line in place, Brennan unconsciously grabbed for Booth's hand. He let her squeeze as much as she needed, noticing the grimace cross her face as the needle slid out from under her skin. Nurse Allen quickly wrapped a bandage around her arm, taping it in place.

"Ok, that's all done. Just keep that bandage on for the rest of the day to ensure the bleeding has stopped." After unhooking the last of the monitors that were attached to her, she handed Brennan the clipboard and a pen, letting her finally sign for her release. "And this is the prescription Dr. Larsen wrote for your antihypertensive medication. You should get this filled as soon as possible because he wants you starting on it today."

"I'll take that," Booth reached forward to grab it before Brennan could get her hands on it. She opened her mouth to protest, but one look at Booth's stern glare, she knew it was useless to argue. "We can stop by the pharmacy on the way home."

"Home?" she questioned. "Do you mean my home or yours?"

Sensing this was about to become a private conversation, Nurse Allen hurriedly grabbed the signed papers and gave them both a quick smile. "Let me get these papers turned in and I'll be right back. You can go ahead and get changed, if you'd like." They both watched as she closed the door behind her, making a speedy exit.

When they were alone again, he gave a heavy sigh as he answered her. "I meant your place, Bones. I thought you would be more comfortable in your own bed, since you're going to be seeing a lot of it in the next two weeks."

"Oh," she hesitated, her eyes avoiding his. "I just assumed I would be staying with you. I mean, I thought you would be staying with me, but at your apartment. But that's fine. I'm sure Angela will be by quite a bit when you aren't there, and my Dad will be by when he gets back in town, so there will be someone with me. And there's really no need for someone to stay with me all day and night anyway. I am perfectly capable of managing on my own."

"Ok, I'm confused." There was almost a sadness in her eyes that made him feel like he was missing something. As he watched her fidget with the edge of the blanket covering her, it finally hit him. "You don't think I'm letting you out of my sight, do you?" When her head jerked up to look at him, he saw the wetness shining in her eyes. He couldn't help but let out an exasperated breath, realizing what she was thinking. "Bones, I am staying with you. You're going to be on bed rest, so there's no way I'm leaving you alone. You're stuck with me 24/7 for the next two weeks."

"But you haven't been home in almost three weeks. I assumed you want to sleep in your own bed," she tried to explain around the lump in her throat. "And what about Parker? I know you're going to want to see him. And there's work. Surely the FBI is not going to let you miss another two weeks of work."

"First of all, of course, I want to see Parker." Bringing their joined hands up to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss to her fingers. "There's no reason he can't come see both of us at your apartment. And two, I've been working for three weeks straight and helped bust a drug ring, so Hacker owes me some time off." He smiled as he saw the wheels turning in her head. "As for Parker, you know he even left a message on my phone while I was gone that he was missing you too. You've got a spare bedroom anyway, so he'll be fine. We can let it be a trial run before we get our own place together." She had seemed distracted enough that he thought he could slip that last part in, but he saw the look cross her face when his words finally sunk in.

"Booth, I'm not sure about trying to sell my place in this market," she complained. "I am not necessarily opposed to us cohabitating, and since we're already going to be at my place, why don't you just move in with me. My place is much roomier than yours and you even said there is a spare room for Parker."

"So Parker has a room, but where are we going to put the baby?" Not giving her time to respond, he shook his head. "No, it's fine on a temporary basis, but we're going to start looking for a place that is ours. We are about to have plenty of time on our hands, so looking at real estate listings will be at the top of the agenda, along with baby names." Before she could protest, he quickly cut her off again. "Now, if you really want to get out of here, let's get you up and changed. Angela went by your apartment to pick up some clothes for you and dropped them off this morning. Wouldn't want you to grace the outside world in this," his fingers lifted the sleeve of her hospital gown. "Of course, I think you look sexy in anything…or nothing."

Despite her best attempt, she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. "And the fact that I am carrying your daughter has no basis on that statement." Rolling away from him, she swung her legs down off the bed, trying to scoot forward until her feet hit the floor.

"Would you wait a minute?" His voice was full of panic as he rushed around to the other side of the bed. "Let me help you get up, okay?" She rolled her eyes at him as he practically lifted her off the bed, carrying her toward the nearby bathroom to change. "And for the record, I'm not biased and it has nothing to do with you being pregnant with my kid. I thought you were sexy the first time I met you. You do remember the bar, tequila…"

Turning around, she surprised him by planting her lips firmly on his in a not so gentle kiss. When they separated, she grinned, "I remember vividly." Extracting herself from his arms while he was momentarily distracted, she grabbed the bag out of his hands and slipped into the bathroom.

Shaking his head, he couldn't help but smile at the closed door in front of him. Even after all these years, she could still surprise him. As he made his way back to sit on the edge of the bed to wait on her, he started thinking of the next couple of weeks ahead of them. Though he would have rather it have been under other circumstances, he was looking forward to it being just the two of them. Angela and Max, whenever he decided to return from wherever he had disappeared to, were sure to make their presence known, but he was prepared to lock the door if he had to. The three weeks he had been apart from Bones was the longest stretch since they had both made their ill-advised trips out of the country over a year ago. So they were due for some alone time with no well-meaning friends or family hanging around.

Stretching his neck from side to side, he could feel his tight muscles pulling in protest making him long for a very hot shower followed by lots and lots of sleep. He only hoped that he could get her to do the same. Suddenly looking down at his watch, he realized it had been almost ten minutes since she had slipped from his arms and entered the bathroom. Worry started to creep back in so he slid off the bed. Listening at the door as he knocked, he could hear water running, but didn't hear her moving around. "Bones?" When he didn't get a response, his heart started to race. His hand reached for the handle just at the time the door came swinging back toward him. Stumbling backwards, Brennan reached for his hand to steady him.

"What are you doing, Booth?"

"Why didn't you answer me?" he questioned, ushering her back to the bed. "You need to be off your feet."

"I didn't hear you with the water running." She turned as he pushed her back down to the bed, seeing the worry in his eyes. "Booth, take a breath, okay? I'm fine. You are going to be the one with the high blood pressure if you don't relax."

Taking a deep breath to slow his heart rate back to normal, he sat down beside her, reaching for her hand. "I know I overreacted, but I just…I just don't want anything to happen. I can't stop thinking about walking into this room last night and seeing you lying in the bed, so pale and so still. It's hard to get that image out of head. It scared me seeing you like that."

As his eyes focused on their joined hands, she reached her other hand to his face, softly caressing him. "Look at me, Booth," she pleaded, her voice drawing his eyes to hers. "I understand, okay? I have been in that situation with you more times than I care to remember and I know the anxiousness and worry that accompanies seeing someone you love hurt or sick. However, I believe in the science of medicine and if the doctor says I will be able to remain healthy and have a full term pregnancy then that is what I choose to believe. I want you to believe that as well."

Leaning his head down to rest against hers, he whispered, "I promise I'll try."

He took the hand that was still resting against his face, bringing it to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to the palm of her hand. They separated as they heard the knock on the door. Looking up, Brennan glared at the wheelchair the moment Nurse Allen rolled it into the room. There was no way she was leaving this hospital except on her own two feet. Glancing back to Booth for sympathy, she was not surprised to find none.

"It's hospital policy," he shrugged as he stood from the bed. Making his way over to the wheelchair, he took the nurse's place behind it, resting his hands on the handles. "If you want to get out of here, you're going to have to do the whole wheelchair thing."

"I'm perfectly capable of walking out of here on my own," she snapped with an irritated frown. "I'm not an invalid."

Reaching for the bag she had thrown on the bed beside her, she slammed her feet to the ground. She pushed herself off the bed, only to do so too fast as she felt a familiar wave of vertigo strike. It was an impossible feat to hide her weariness and the moment her feet started to stumble, Booth was by her side.

"See?" he said gently, reaching for her arm. "It's better if you're in the chair. We get to go home and everyone is happy."

She sighed, slightly frustrated, "Fine." Perhaps if she weren't in such a desperate rush to get out of this place, she'd put up a bigger fight. But as it is, it's been one of the longest days of her life, stuck here in this sterile hospital room, and all she wanted was to go home. The thought of sleeping in her own bed with him beside her was worth the temporary humiliation of being carted out of the hospital like an invalid.

"That's my girl," he smiled, his hand supporting her elbow as she turned to sit down in the offensive chair.

She rolled her eyes at him, but planted her feet on the provided foot rests without making an issue of it. The sight of these same four walls was driving her crazy and she wanted nothing more than to get out of here. The nurse seemed to sense her eagerness so she stepped aside allowing Booth room to maneuver the wheelchair into the hallway.

"Here is your copy of your release papers and an appointment card for your follow up visit with Dr. Larsen." Nurse Allen handed over the folder filled with papers with a small appointment card stapled to the front. "Remember, bed rest, Dr. Brennan. I do not want to see you back here again until it's time to deliver that baby."

"That's the plan," Booth smiled as he slung Brennan's bag over his shoulder. "Let's roll, Bones!"

* * *

><p>They had been here for all of two hours when she felt the restlessness already start to kick in. Not even the latest edition of the anthropology journal she loved so much was holding her interest. Oblivious to her anxiety, Booth was lying in the bed beside her, remote in hand, flipping through the ridiculous amount of channels on the television. He had ushered her immediately into the bedroom upon their arrival home and had been so focused on getting her comfortable that he hadn't noticed the surprise she had waiting for him. Two weeks ago, she had made the purchase and had it delivered so as to surprise him when he returned from his assignment. She still was not keen on the idea of having a television in her bedroom, but at the time she had been so desperate to do anything that planned for the time he would be with her again, she caved. Given she knew very little about televisions or satellite systems, Angela had helped her pick out this monstrosity piece of equipment as well as the package of channels that Booth was currently enjoying, including the almost thirty various sports channels that seemed to peak his interest most. He had been excited when he plopped down beside her and grabbed the remote, rewarding her with a kiss for her generosity. Looking at him now, intently flipping from one channel to the next, she had obviously made the right choice. It was the first time she had seen him relax in the past 24 hours. Picking her journal back up, she tried again to read the article that she had started five times already, only to realize it was not going to hold her attention.<p>

It was only when she slammed it shut, slinging it to the floor, did Booth seem to notice her discontent. "What's wrong?"

"I'm bored," she moaned, crossing her arms against her in frustration.

"Bones, we've barely been here two hours," he laughed as he hit the off button on the remote. "How can you be bored already?"

"I'm just not used to sitting her doing nothing," she pouted. "I need to be in the lab with my hands on a skull or identifying bones. And before you say anything, I know I'm on bed rest and I know I cannot work in the lab for at least the next two weeks. I'm just telling you how I feel. That's what you're always telling me, right? That you want to know how I feel?"

"Yes," he smiled softly, scooting closer to her to pull her into his arms. "I always want to know how you feel, Bones. No matter what you're feeling, I always want you to tell me." Brushing a stray hair away from her face, his heart broke when he saw a single tear slip down her cheek.

"I feel like I did something wrong," her voice cracked. "I am used to being in control and now I have absolutely no control over anything. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

"It's not your fault, Bones," he tried to reassure her. "If anything, I blame me for adding more stress on you by leaving."

"No, it wasn't that," she shook her head. "It's me. Though I do accept Dr. Larsen's prognosis and I know our daughter will be born healthy, I still feel like it's my fault that she was ever in danger at all. I am her mother, Booth. She is going to look to me to take care of her and I do not appear to be equipped to do that."

"Bones, you are already an incredible mother." Wiping another tear from her face, his finger lingered against her lips. "I've heard you the past couple of months reading to her or playing her music even though you tell me that it is not possible for her to hear us yet. I think you just don't want me telling her the ins and outs of hockey," he teased. "And the music? We seriously need to talk about the musical influences we introduce to her. But I know why you do all of it. You are already so connected to her and you want her to be smart and happy and beautiful and she will be because she has you for a mother."

"I really don't know what I did to deserve you," she whispered, staring intently into his eyes.

"You love me," he whispered back. "That's all I need." Pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, his arms pulled her even closer. "And the three of us are here together and right now, that's what matters. Whatever else comes our way, we'll deal with it together."

"I've never had someone to depend on before, but I'm finding I like it very much." Her lips curved into a slight smile as he leaned forward to kiss her again. "It makes me very happy to have you here. You make me happy, Booth."

Before he could tell her he felt the same, he was interrupted by her growling stomach. She looked at him sheepishly as he laughed. "I bet I can make you happier. How about I go in the kitchen and make you some dinner? That is if you have any decent food in there."

As he twisted his body to roll off the bed, he felt the sting of his bruised ribs, but tried to hide his grimace from her. Nothing escaped her though and he felt her pulling on his arm to get him to turn back toward her. "Booth, you are still recovering and you need your rest too."

"You need to eat, Bones," he objected. "And you are supposed to take the first dose of the medication the doctor prescribed."

"Then why don't we just call and order some take out?" she reasoned. "That Thai place down the street will deliver."

"What? No, they don't," he argued. "In all the years we have been going there, they have never had a delivery service."

"Well, let's just say they do for their best customers," she smiled with a wink. "The past couple of weeks, I have been craving Tai food quite extensively and after the third night in a row, Mr. Hong must have thought I looked tired because he said he would refuse to serve me if I came back in there again. He insisted I call in my order and he would have someone bring it to me. I thought maybe you had bribed him before you left to keep an eye on me."

"So my daughter is going to inherit our love of Thai food, huh?" Rubbing his hand against her belly, he thought she must have known he was talking about her because she rewarded him with several swift kicks against his hand. "That's my girl."

"Booth, my craving a particular kind of food during pregnancy has nothing to do with the baby or what type of tastes she may acquire in her life span. That does not make any biological sense."

"Just go with me here, Bones, okay?" he asked. "With us as parents, I'm just saying there is a good likelihood that she will like Thai food as much as we do. I know you will want to teach her to experiment and try all of that weird wacko organic crap that you like to eat, so I will have to teach her the joys of eating a hot dog and pretzels and popcorn and nachos." He smiled at the scowl that crossed her face. "You know, all the staple foods at every sports stadium and arena in the country."

"You call my healthy, nutritional food crap when you want to feed our daughter the most fattening foods ever processed?" Shaking her head in protest, she turned away from him, swinging her legs to the floor in an attempt to get up off the bed.

"Where are you going?" he questioned as he rolled off the bed to walk around to her side. "Bones, you're supposed to be staying off your feet. That is what bed rest means."

"Your daughter is sitting on my bladder right now, Booth," she groaned, reaching for his hand to help her up. "So unless you want me to urinate all over this bed, you'll help me up so I can get to the bathroom."

Placing a supportive hand around her back, he let her pull up on his shoulder so she was finally on her feet. "Okay, I'll go order the takeout and then you are right back to this bed. No stalling, you got it?"

"Fine," she waved him away. "Just go order the food."

Slamming the door behind her, he took a deep breath as he turned to head toward the kitchen to look for the takeout menu. "This is going to be a long two weeks," he muttered to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Well, this one-shot that turned into 7 chapters is coming to a close. I wanted to get this finished and up before the Bones drought finally comes to an end on Monday night. Thanks for the support and feedback! Hope you enjoy this last installment of my own little Bones creation!**_

_**~ Dee**_

* * *

><p>As she made her way up through the layers of sleep, she opened her eyes slowly, squinting at the brightness of the room. Turning her head toward the other side of the bed, she found it empty. It wasn't uncommon for Booth to be up before her. He had never slept much anyway and over the last two weeks it seemed like he was sleeping even less, either from worry about her or the discomfort of his own injuries, she wasn't sure. Being stuck in this bed without being able to do anything for him made her feel helpless.<p>

Thirteen days and counting, she reminded herself. Her looming doctor's appointment the next day was within sight so she just had to hold on for another twenty-four hours. It was a good thing she enjoyed her apartment because otherwise she would have gone on a rampage by now. Boredom can drive a person insane – she's sure of this now. And she's only been on bed rest for just shy of two weeks. Two measly weeks and already the tediousness of it all was taking its toll. Between Angela and her Dad and Booth in particular, they had all tried to help. Booth made it a point to have someone drop off files for them to review together. Or in the rare moments he would leave her side, he would go to the grocery store and bring back her favorite organic ice cream that she couldn't seem to get enough of lately. And when she complained about her back aching, it only took a moment before his hands started to expertly glide up and down her back, gently massaging the soreness away. Booth had taken it upon himself to make sure her every need or want was met and despite the times he annoyed her with his overprotective streak, she had to admit she had never felt more cared for or more loved than she had during the past two weeks. She knew he had to be feeling cooped up too, missing being in the field working on a case, but he never let her see it. Instead, every night after making their dinner and cleaning the kitchen, he would crawl into bed beside her and slip his arms around her with a smile on his face that made her body tingle from head to toe.

As she took a deep breath, she inhaled the sweet scent of cinnamon and her mouth started to water. In passing a couple of nights ago, she had mentioned a sudden craving for French toast. She had been careful to avoid such indulgences during her pregnancy, determined to not give in to the stereotypical cravings of unhealthy foods. However, she had been reading one of the travel magazines Angela had brought her to read when she saw the picture of the luscious treat too tempting and confessed to him how wonderful it looked. At the time, he had appeared to be distracted by the hockey game playing on the television, so she had flipped the page in frustration and turned her back to him. So, of course, he had made the excuse of needing to run some errands when her father had stopped by for a visit yesterday. Those errands had obviously included a trip to the grocery store to purchase the necessary ingredients to give her exactly what she wanted.

Knowing it would be no time at all before she needed to make her ritual morning trip to the bathroom, she eased her body up off the bed and reached for her nearby robe. Sliding her arms through the soft material, she tired the sash around her ever-growing belly. As she padded her way toward the kitchen, she hesitated in the doorway, watching him reach for the nearby spatula. The tight black t-shirt he wore did little to hide the well-toned muscles across his broad shoulders and she felt a familiar tug that had her biting her lip in frustration. Yes, there was that craving too. He was so careful with her these days and whenever she had tried to get him to meet that craving as well, he was adamant about waiting until her doctor's appointment to make sure it was safe. Of all times for him to start being the rational one.

As she took a step closer to him, she detected a soft humming and quickly realized it was him. He was humming a tune she didn't recognize, but it didn't really matter. She felt the tears start to sting her eyes as she swallowed around the lump in her throat. Despite his worry about her and voluntarily joining her in a prison sentence of bed rest, he was happy.

Sensing he was being watched, Booth turned his head and arched his eyebrow in concern. "What are you doing out of bed, Bones?"

"I was missing you," she smiled, crossing the room to slide her arms around him from behind. Resting her hands against his firm abs, she pressed a kiss to his warm neck.

Turning in her arms, he was about to direct her right back to bed when her lips came crashing down on his. Suddenly, his mind was thinking of her bed for a completely different reason. Forgetting about the warm stove behind him, he pulled her closer, his hands sliding up her back to her neck. Her hands rested on his hips as he broke their kiss to trail his lips down her throat and back up to that spot just behind her ear that he knew drove her crazy. It wasn't long before she was pulling him back so her lips could find his again. It was at that moment their daughter decided to make her presence known. As much as she tried to hide it, Brennan couldn't help but let out a slight whimper as she felt either an elbow or a foot giving her a quick, sharp jab. Unfortunately, it was just enough for Booth to hear her and pull away.

"Whoa, hold on a second," he mumbled breathlessly, his eyes anxious as he looked at her. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Booth," she groaned, clenching her hands in frustration. "I have been lying in that bed for the better part of two weeks now and I'm perfectly fine. Five minutes on my feet is not going to cause me to go into premature labor. How many times have I told you that you worry needlessly and I am perfectly capable…"

"Hang on," he reached for her arm before she could turn away. "I get it, okay? I worry too much." The angry scowl across her face slowly started to ease when she saw that crooked smile of his that he knew would get her to give in to him. "So how about we compromise? I finish up breakfast and you sit and keep me company. Sound like a plan?"

She eyed him warily trying to see if there was some catch to this compromise that would end up with her back in the bedroom to resume her strict bed rest. Booth bit back a laugh as he watched her thinking over his request. He knew she was trying to find a way to argue against him, but he mentally congratulated himself when he saw her turn to the nearby barstool and ease herself up into the chair. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but at least she was off her feet. Sitting a glass of juice in front of her, he turned his attention back to the food starting to sizzle on the stove in front of him, thinking back and remembering how much of a victory this really was for him.

It had not been an easy two weeks for either of them. Her independence mixed with his need to take care of her had always been one of the biggest issues between them, but even more so since she had come home from the hospital. Booth had done his best to keep her mind occupied with case files and journal articles from her office that she had complained about never having time to read. He had even convinced her to a movie night a few times as he introduced her to the world of classic movies. All of those steps had bought him some time, but they were not enough to fill up the hours upon hours she was remanded to her bed.

It was four days into her mandated bed rest when he had awoken before dawn to an empty bed. His heart had been racing as he bolted out of bed to find her sitting on the couch with her open laptop in front of her. She had explained that she couldn't sleep so she had been working on the next chapter in her book. To her it was completely logical to be productive during a sleepless night, so why not focus on her writing. To him it did not exactly meet the definition of bed rest. After much coaxing on his part, he got her back to bed and after an hour of tossing and turning, both had finally fallen back to sleep.

Then there was the big blow up three days ago. He had just forced her to eat something for lunch despite her protests that she wasn't hungry, when Angela brought Michael by for an early afternoon visit. Since Michael was with her, Booth had relented about Brennan being in the living room as long as she promised to keep her feet propped up on the ottoman that sat in front of the couch. She agreed with a frustrated frown as he all but carried her into the living room, making sure a pillow was firmly behind her aching back and her feet were properly elevated. He returned to the kitchen, busying himself with cleaning up after lunch, but all the while keeping one eye on her. All morning she had been quiet and withdrawn and her tired eyes had him worried. When he continued to interrupt with the excuse of asking if they needed anything, Angela finally convinced him to go for a run or something to give her a chance to catch up with her best friend without his hovering. When he saw the slight nod of Brennan's head telling him it was okay to go, he reluctantly changed his clothes and slipped on his running shoes. As he started out the door, worry caused him to turn around once more before Bones gave him a sweet smile and told him to go. The run was actually good for him, helping to ease some of the stress away. With his undercover assignment, then dealing with his own recovery and worrying about Bones, he hadn't been able to do this in over a month. He was feeling good when he unlocked the door to her apartment, only to be met with silence. When he reached the living room, he did not see any of Michael's baby things lying around and no sign of him or the two women who were supposed to still be visiting. As he turned toward the bedroom to look for them, he heard a loud crash from the hallway that had him running as fast as his tired legs would carry him. His heart stopped when he found Brennan sitting on the floor with a pile of papers and books surrounding her.

"Oh God, are you hurt?" His voice trembled as he rushed toward her, falling to his knees as his eyes carefully examined her for any sign of distress.

"Booth, I'm fine," she sighed tiredly, pushing his hand away from her face. "Angela just mentioned something about the case the Jeffersonian is working on with Agent Shaw and it made me remember something from some of my past research that could be of some help. She was called back to the lab and since I have my old files stored here, I thought I would look for the research." He was silent for a moment, too stunned to speak. She saw his face start to morph from fear to anger, so she realized she needed to further explain why she was on the floor. "I knew you would be upset if I attempted to carry these boxes back to the bedroom nor would you want me standing on my feet for a long period of time, so I found a compromise. I could sit down here and be off my feet here, which still allowed me access to the files. I accidentally knocked over a vase when I was reaching for another box…that's the crash you heard. But I'm fine, Booth. I promise, I'm fine."

"You're kidding me, right?" he grunted, finally finding his voice. "Bones, what the hell where you thinking? What part of bed rest do you not get? You were in the hospital less than two weeks ago with high blood pressure and abdominal pain. The doctor said you needed to rest and yet here you are not only out of bed and not resting, but sitting on a cold floor, pulling things down off of shelves that could come crashing down on you." He rubbed his tired eyes in frustration and just stared back at her. "For once, could you just try to think about someone other than yourself?"

When she opened her mouth to fight back, she found her emotions had risen to the surface and stole her voice. To her dismay, tears started to fill her eyes and she turned away from him to focus on the papers stacked in her lap.

As he thought back now to that moment, seeing her sitting on the floor with tears starting to fall down her face, he once again felt a lump in his throat. He knew he had been harsh with her and had taken his frustration and anxiety out on her. He had quickly made his apologies then and helped ease her back to her feet, leaving the contents of the closet scattered on the floor. Pulling her into his arms, he had held her while she cried. Slowly walking them back toward the bedroom, he gently set her down on the bed and crawled in beside her. It wasn't long before they both succumbed to the sleep that both needed.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw her with elbows on the bar, one hand propping up her head as she flipped aimlessly through another case file Angela had dropped off. More than likely the case that had led to the infamous search for past research in the hallway closet. After having finally made up after that fiasco, the last thing he wanted to do was bring it up again, so he thought he would tread on hopefully more neutral territory.

"You know, you're supposed to be keeping me company," he joked with a smile.

"What?" she looked up in confusion. "Oh, I'm sorry, Booth. There is just something about this case that is bothering me, but I cannot put my finger on it. I find myself anxious, wishing I could be in the lab to examine the remains."

"Well, hopefully after tomorrow, you'll be able to do just that," he smiled sympathetically. Scooping up a spoonful of eggs, he placed them on a plate beside a slice of the French toast and slid the plate in front of her. "I know you are not going to like this and the last thing I want to do is argue with you, but even if the doctor releases you to return to work, you're not going back in the field with me right now."

"You're correct," she looked up at him. "I do not like it, but I acknowledge that I am not able to assist you the way you need, so I will focus on the work I can do in the lab."

"Hey," he replied, reaching for her hand. "Don't put it that way. There is no one I want more out there with me. You just have enough stress on your body right now and I don't want you to overdo it."

"Not to mention you would not be able to focus if you were worrying about me the entire time," she added.

"Yeah, well, there's that too," he grinned as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "Hey, what can I say? I know my hovering annoys you, but I love you and our baby girl and I just want you both happy and healthy."

"Despite my frustration with your hovering, that does mean everything to me, Booth, it really does." She swallowed hard, determined to not let her out of control emotions overwhelm her. "I have come to realize that while I am capable of taking care of myself, having you here has become something I depend on more than I ever thought I would. Our daughter is very fortunate to have you as her father."

It was his turn to get emotional as he blinked back the tears in his eyes. Drawing her hand to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss to her fingers. "Yeah, well as long as she inherits her mother's looks and brains, I know she'll be just fine."

She smiled at him, "While it would be ideal for her to inherit my intellect, I would not be opposed for her to inherit your bone structure and your compassion. I do not wish for her to be like me and close herself off to other people. I did that for too long and I missed the benefits of having someone to love me like you do now. I want her to have an open heart like yours."

"You don't give yourself nearly enough credit, Bones. Well, except for the intellect part," he joked, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. "I just wish you could see yourself through my eyes."

"How would I be able to see…" she began with a confused stare as she watched him shake his head gently with a smile. "Too literal again?"

"Your breakfast is getting cold, Bones," he answered with a grin. "Just eat."

* * *

><p>Nearly twenty-four hours later, they found themselves in the waiting room of Dr. Larsen's office waiting not so patiently for their appointment to begin. After a relaxing, lazy day they had both turned in early the night before, but neither had found sleep easily. Though the past two weeks had been relatively uneventful in regards to her health, there was still a chance that the doctor would be concerned enough to keep her on bed rest. And that was something neither of them wanted to even consider.<p>

Brennan began to fill out the numerous forms the receptionist had handed her when they checked in. Booth sat beside her, his leg bouncing with nervousness as he tried to focus on a sports magazine he had picked up from the rack hanging on the wall in front of them.

"I'm getting nauseous, Booth," she moaned, cutting her eyes at him as she put her hand on his knee.

"What?" His eyes immediately clouded with concern. "What's wrong? Do you need me to get you some crackers or something?"

"No, it's all the jostling around from your leg bouncing all over the place," she complained with a frown. "Why are you so nervous? I'm the one that may be remanded to bed rest for the next three months. Your doctor has already cleared you to go back to work."

"I just want him to say you and the baby are in the clear," he responded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "And I don't want you to have to be on best rest any longer because I know how much you hate it."

"Yes, I do," she sighed. "However, I will keep my promise that I made to you. I will do whatever I am required to do to ensure our daughter is healthy."

"I know you will, Bones," he smiled sympathetically. "I just don't want this pregnancy to be any harder on you than it already has been and..." Suddenly the door to the waiting room opened and the nurse was calling her name. Leaning forward, he gave Brennan a quick kiss on the forehead. "Here we go."

She nodded as she felt her own nerves start to arise as he helped her to her feet. Forcing a smile at the nurse, she followed her around each turn of the hallway until they arrived at the exam room, not letting go of Booth's hand. He had never accompanied her to a doctor's appointment before today and it felt strange having him here. She had never understood seeing other prospective fathers accompany their wives or partners at a routine doctor's appointment. Booth was squeamish when it came to talking about sex or female genitalia in public, so it never even crossed her mind to invite him to any of her previous appointments. Though as the nurse opened the door to the exam room, she gripped his hand tighter realizing how grateful she was to have him here with her today.

"There is a gown on the table if you will go ahead and get changed, Dr. Brennan. Dr. Larsen will be with you shortly," she smiled. "Mr. Booth, you are free to remain in the waiting room until after the examination is complete, if you'd like. I can come get you before Dr. Larsen goes over any test results."

"No," Brennan answered sharply, not giving him a chance to reply. "I would prefer if Booth stay here with me." Turning back to him, her eyes were hesitant. "That is if that is okay with you."

"Of course, I want to stay," he gave her one of his crooked grins as he rubbed the back of her head. "I'm with you all the way, Bones."

The nurse gave them an understanding nod as she ushered them into the room. When the door closed, Brennan slowly began to undo the buttons on her shirt to change into the hideous gown. She felt a sudden shyness overcome her as she began to undress in front of him. It's not as if he hadn't seen her body numerous times before, but it had been awhile since she had been this exposed to him and her body had changed so much in that time.

As if sensing her nervousness, he reached his hand to lift her chin up to look at him. "Hey, you don't need to be shy around me, but if it would make you more comfortable, I can step out of the room while you change."

"No," she frowned. "I'm fine. It's just my body has undergone a lot of change since the last time we were intimate and I don't know how you will react with how I look now."

"Are you kidding me?" he uttered in confusion. "Bones, you have always been beautiful to me, but never more so than you are right now. And I know you think that is just some line coming from an expectant father trying to make the mother of his child feel better. I promise you it's not. Seeing you like this, you take my breath away."

With tears in her eyes, she reached her hand to him to gently caress his face. "Though I'm not sure I can agree with your assessment, I do appreciate the sentiment. Thank you for being here."

Turning his head to press a gentle kiss to the palm of her hand, he grinned. "Nowhere else I'd rather be. Now, let's get you out of these clothes so we can get to it." He paused when he heard her laugh. "Okay, that didn't sound right, but you know what I mean."

With the gown in place, he helped her up on the table and they began the wait. He tried to distract her with talk of Parker's latest school project his son had told him about last night and the plans he had to take him to the zoo next weekend, reminding her she could only join them if the doctor gave the all clear. After fifteen minutes of their nervous chatter, the door opened to reveal the nurse who had escorted them earlier followed by a smiling Dr. Larsen.

"How are you feeling today, Dr. Brennan?"

"Other than a little nervousness, I feel perfectly fine," she answered.

"So no further dizzy spells or abdominal pains since your hospital visit?" he questioned as he started to make notations in the chart he held.

"None," she nodded, holding her arm out for the nurse who slid a blood pressure cuff above her elbow.

She tried not to wince as the cuff tightened his grip on her arm. Taking the stethoscope out of her ears, she finally released the pressure from the cuff and jotted down the numbers on the chart Dr. Larsen held. As he flipped through additional pages in the chart, both of them felt their frayed nerves even more. Finally he looked up as he slid the pen in his coat pocket.

"I'd like to do a quick exam and then we'll go over all the test results, okay?"

Brennan nodded solemnly as she slid back on the cold table, Booth retreating to the opposite end of the room to stand by her head. She knew he would probably rather be anywhere else but here, but when she reached up for his hand, he gripped it tightly as the doctor began his work. Closing her eyes she tried to let her mind wander to something else. She was unsuccessful as she heard Booth exhale slowly and she felt herself doing the same. Thankfully Dr. Larsen was prompt with his exam and after a few more lingering moments, he was telling her to get dressed and meet him in his office down the hall. They both tried to examine the expression on his face or the tone of his voice, but he was not revealing much, which had them worried. Booth helped her off the table and quickly back into her clothes before the nurse returned to escort them further down the hall to the doctor's office.

Both were silent as they waited anxiously in the leather chairs facing straight ahead. Booth's knee resumed the nervous bounce from the waiting room, but this time Brennan was too distracted to notice. Her mind had started to process every worst case scenario even though she knew it was not rational to do so until she heard what the doctor had to say. She jumped slightly when the door suddenly opened with Dr. Larsen voicing his apologies for making them wait. Taking one last glance at Booth, he tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it was not so convincing.

"I have the results from the blood and urine tests from when you came in earlier this week," he began, sliding his glasses in place as he reviewed the chart in front of him. "Good news, Dr. Brennan. Liver and kidneys are functioning properly and blood platelets are normal." Looking back up at the anxious couple, he gave them a heartening smile. "Your blood pressure today was normal as well, so the rest and medication have done the job."

Booth let out an audible sigh of relief as he brought her hand up to his lips for a kiss. She swallowed hard as she felt her daughter kicking happily against her. It was the best news she could have hoped for, but there was still one more lingering question. Before she could voice that question, Booth beat her to it.

"What about her returning to work?"

"I see no reason why she cannot return to work, but I would suggest a reduced schedule along with several breaks throughout the day to rest and get off your feet," he responded. "I also want you to continue taking the antihypertensive medication and come in for blood pressure checks every other week. Monitor your blood pressure at home as well and if you see higher readings start to reappear, give the office a call immediately. Avoid stress, get plenty of rest and you should have a healthy baby in a few short months."

"Thank you," Booth beamed as he stood to leave, pulling Brennan to her feet. "We appreciate all you've done."

"It's my pleasure," he smiled as he shook Booth's extended hand. "If you need anything at all, do not hesitate to call."

As they made their way out of the office and back to the parking deck, Booth noticed she had not spoken since before they went into Dr. Larsen's office. He suddenly stopped walking, pulling her hand to make her stop in front of him. When she turned to him, she saw his brow furrowed in concern.

"You're awful quiet, Bones. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she shook her head. "I'm very thankful for the news we just received. I guess I had been expecting the worst and now…"

She chastised herself when she felt the tears start to fill her eyes. Booth cupped her face in his hands giving a gentle kiss to her lips. "It's the best news possible," he whispered. "I'm just so glad you both are okay." They stood there for a moment in silence, both taking a moment to finally start to relax. "You know, we don't have to go in to work today. After such good news, I think we should go celebrate. What do you say?"

For the first time in several weeks, she laughed when she saw the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I do want to celebrate….by going to the lab. I want to share our good news with Angela and the others."

"Okay," he sighed with a smile. "But only if you promise we can have a proper celebration later tonight."

"I'm the one who has been wanting a proper celebration for weeks now," she looked at him pointedly. "So are you saying you are willing to participate in such a celebration now?"

"Absolutely," he sighed before leaning in for another kiss. "Now let's get to the lab and get this show on the road."

They rode in happy silence as he drove them to the Jeffersonian. Helping her out of his truck, he grabbed her hand with a smile as they made the quick trek up to the lab. When the doors slid open, they saw their colleagues hard at work. It was Hodgins who finally saw them waiting at the edge of the steps leading to the platform and called everyone's attention to them. Booth looked back at Brennan and saw the happy smile on her face. He kissed her temple before turning back to their friends who stood waiting to hear their news.

"We're back, baby!"


End file.
